The Deal
by Reeliams
Summary: Alternative ending to Chris-Crossed. Wyatt breaks free from Bianca's hold just seconds to soon and stops Chris from returning his powers. Knowing there is nothing more he can do, Chris instead saves Bianca by joining with Wyatt. When he doesn't return, the sisters grow even more determined to get him back.
1. Chapter 1

Wyatt let out a yell, pushing out his hand, sending Chris flying across the room into a table which collapsed beneath his weight, sending plumes of dust into the air.

"You promised you wouldn't hurt him!" yelled Bianca angrily, her fury overtaking her fear of the witch.

"And you promised you'd turn him. Just like I turned you, or at least I thought I had." retorted Wyatt, never taking his eyes off of his frustrating little brother. Bianca ran to the groaning Chris' side, determined to clean up her mess.

"Chris." She whispered, tears now falling down the usually emotionless girl's face. "Please, I didn't bring you here to die." Of course she didn't want Chris to turn to Wyatt's side- but it was too late, and more than anything, she didn't want to lose the boy she loved

"Don't worry I know what I'm doing" Replied Chris breathlessly. He wasn't looking at Bianca, but rather had his eyes focused on the floor just below his brother's feet. "I think." He added, but his determination was set when he heard the familiar creak of the floorboard.

Without waiting for a second thought, he let out a sudden yell and ran straight at a very surprised Wyatt, who easily threw him aside, sending him crashing into another table.

"Have you lost your mind?" He asked, looking down at the pathetic boy. He had finally lost his patients with Chris' stubbornness, and had decided it may be best to simply remove the obstacle altogether. "I don't need you." He hissed menacingly. He curled his fist into a ball, telekinetically gripping Chris by the neck before lifting him off the ground and conjuring an energy ball.

Bianca, seeing what was happening made a split second decision. She leapt forward; pushing her hand into Wyatt's back, fighting against all his magical shields to keep his powers at bay. Wyatt let out a groan and the energy ball disappeared. At the same time, Chris dropped from the air and lay gasping on the ground for a few seconds before turning to Bianca.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it fast." she ordered. "I can't hold him for long."

Chris leapt into action, quickly scrambling across the floor to the creaky floor board, hoping beyond hope that his family had understood his clue. To his relief, he found a small piece of folded paper, now covered in dust and cobwebs, on which had the very familiar handwriting of his aunt Paige.

Before he could read it, however, Wyatt gave another yell, and this time he was powerful enough to throw Bianca off him, and with a kick, he sent her flying straight onto the pile of debris from the table Wyatt had thrown him on. Chris watched in despair as she was impaled on one of the sharp pieces of wood.

"No!" He screamed, but he was too late to do anything. Wyatt tore the paper from his hands before he could read it and all he could do was run to his dying fiancé's side. Her breathing was short and uneven and there were tears in her eyes as she looked up at Chris. "Bianca! Bianca...no...No!" moaned Chris, surveying her broken body.

"You see Christopher." stated Wyatt unsympathetically from behind him. "This is what happens if you stand in my way." Chris shook his head, stroking Bianca's hair gently as he willed himself to heal her wound with a power he had never possessed.

"Save her." He begged, not turning around.

"What?" sneered Wyatt in disbelief. "And why would I do that."

"I'll join you." He replied quietly, ignoring Bianca's desperate shaking of her head. "Please, I swear I'll do whatever you ask, just save her!"

"You promise to never cross me again?" Questioned Wyatt, unable to restrain a small smile as he realised his brother was returning to him.

"Yes!" exclaimed Chris angrily, just wanting Wyatt to heal her.

"You will be completely loyal to me, and never question me again?"

"Yes!"

"And you understand that if you betray me, or do anything like what you have done again, that I will first kill Bianca and then you." Chris just nodded his head- he had been defeated and he knew there was nothing more he could do without his powers- all he could do was save her. "Very well then." replied Wyatt after what seemed like an eternity. He telekinetically lifted Bianca off the splintered table leg, and with his other hand, he healed her gaping wound before gently laying her on the ground.

Chris made to run to her, but Wyatt stopped him and before Chris could resist, two burly demons shimmered into the attic, grabbed Bianca by each arm and took her away.

"Where are you taking her?" asked Chris desperately.

"She will be perfectly fine." Wyatt assured him, "Just as long as you stick to your promise." Chris' shoulders sank as he realised he was now truly trapped.


	2. Chapter 2

"So what do we do now?" Questioned Piper to no one in particular once they had placed the spell in the gap under the floor boards. They all looked round expectantly, hoping they had correctly interpreted Chris' words. But as minutes turned into hours, they started to realise something must have happened.

"I don't think he's coming back." Declared Leo eventually- and the sisters weren't happy that he didn't sound all that disappointed.

"But we only put it two hours ago." Objected Phoebe, "I mean he won't even read it for years."

"Yeah, but the way time travel works is that..." Began the Elder, but Phoebe cut in.

"Yeah, I don't want to know, I already have a little headache." She moaned, putting her fingers to her temples to emphasise that point. Leo smiled fondly, but Piper and Paige looked very concerned.

"Okay, so what are we going to do now?" Asked Paige. "I mean I know he was kind of a pain, and he kept more secrets then we do, but he did come here to save Wyatt from something, and we can't just ignore the fact that he was kidnapped."

"What do you want to do then?" Asked Leo who was getting frustrated. "You can't go after him and I doubt a summoning spell would work." 

"You said the elders transported us through time last time because of the 'special circumstances." Said Phoebe pensively, "Well surely these count as special circumstances- I mean Chris came back to save Wyatt, and Wyatt is supposed to bring peace and order to magic, so surely Chris being kidnapped puts the wellbeing of all future magic under question." She argued.

Leo considered this. It wasn't a strong argument for many reasons- including the fact that Chris never technically proved that objective- but he owed it to the sisters to at least try, so with a sigh he orbed back up to the heavens to make that case to the Elders.

It didn't take them long to make their decision. They agreed with the sisters that Chris' capture was highly suspicious, and they all wanted answers that could only be gained by the witch- lighter. Their only condition was that Leo had to accompany them and that they would be transported back to the present after a month whether they had located Chris or not.

There were only two real problems. One was that they still didn't know where Chris was from and the only way they could follow him was to trace the spell Bianca had cast during the kidnapping. The power was fading however, so the sisters could end up years out of their target date if they left too late. And so they would have to leave that evening without any time to prepare if they were to have a hope of saving the Chris they knew. And the second was that as they had done five years ago, the sisters would take the place of their future selves, and so couldn't take anything in the form of weapons with them.

Neither of these concerns bothers the sisters greatly however. They hoped that their future selves would have all the weapons and ingredients they would need, and as they had to leave immediately, they wouldn't have had time to prepare much of an arsenal anyway.

So it was then, that just six hours after their white-lighter had been taken away, that the sisters stood hand in hand in the attic, holding out the spell Leo had brought down from the elders, waiting for Leo to return from dropping Wyatt off at Victor's. Once he returned, he joined hand with Pipers and the Sisters read out the spell.

For a moment it seemed as though it hadn't worked and then they felt a sudden jerk and all four of them were lifted off their feet. Piper felt Phoebe and Leo's hands wrench from her own as the world went black. She wanted to scream, but now sound came out.

Almost as soon as it started, it had finished, and as her vision cleared, Piper suddenly collapsed on to cold concrete, and then she heard a second thump as one of the others arrived.

She frowned. Last time, she been gently transported into her future body, but as she picked herself up, she saw she was wearing exactly the same clothes as the ones she had been wearing before. Looking round her, she noticed only Paige had arrived with her, and apparently Phoebe and Leo had been transported somewhere else- into their future bodies perhaps.

"What happened?" Asked Paige, slightly dazed. "Did it work? I thought I was supposed to wake up as future me or something?" Piper bit her lip as she put the pieces together.

"I don't think there is a future us, Paige." She said sadly. "I think we might be dead."


	3. Chapter 3

Chris wasn't given a moment to recover as Wyatt dragged him from the manor to his base. Chris' disappearance had created much tension amongst Wyatt's followers, so he was determined to prove was no threat to the Empire. As the talk of Chris' attempt had only ever been rumours, his mere presence at his brother's side was enough to prove the stories false.

So it was then, that as Wyatt lead the proceedings of his court- passing sentences on those accused of deceit or treason, while Chris was forced to watch mortals and witches alike- the people his mother and aunts would once have called innocents- be tortured for confessions, and then be locked away or killed as a result, knowing that if he spoke out not only would he lose Wyatt's trust, but it would put Bianca in danger as well.

Chris remained silent therefore, until two teenagers- barely more than fifteen- were brought before the court. Their legs and arms were chained up and- by the looks of their bloodied faces- they had already been severely tortured.

"My lord" -Crowed the demon dragging the shaking girl- "we discovered these two practising illegal witch craft after curfew." He explained, pushing the trembling girl to the ground. Wyatt frowned; low level cases such as witchcraft or curfew breaking were rarely brought before his court. Before he could question it, however, the second demon dragging the equally fearful boy stepped forward.

"They were carrying this." He added, throwing his poor victim to the floor next to the girl before passing Wyatt a piece of torn paper.

Wyatt unfolded it curiously, then his eyes widened as he realised what it was. Chris glanced over his shoulder and his heart sank in pity for the two teenagers. It was one of the pages that had been torn from the Book of Shadows five years when Phoebe had battled with Wyatt in her final attempt to stop him before she had been defeated and forced to go into hiding with what remained of her family. The spell was a basic summoning spell, but it had clearly been recently edited to make it more specific so now if it was spoken at the right time and place, it would summon the witch who had written the spell.

"And where did you find this?" He questioned menacingly, using the toe of his thick leather boot to force the boy's chin upwards to face him.

"We... we were g...g...given it." He stuttered, his hand reaching out to take his friends. "W...w...we were t...t...told it would keep us s...s…safe." He added, unable to look anywhere but into Wyatt's cold pitiless blue eyes.

"And who, pray tell, gave you it?" He asked. The boy didn't answer, and the girl curled up into a tight ball- Chris could tell neither of them would give up the name willingly. "I said." Growled Wyatt, using his telekinesis to uncurl the unfortunate girl and lift her into the air, "Who gave you this spell?"

The girl tried to scream but Wyatt now had a tight grip on her wind pipe so all that came out was a pitiful whine. Wyatt turned back to the boy, who was looking up in horror at his frozen compatriot. He was screaming now as well, begging Wyatt to release her.

"GIVE ME A NAME!" Yelled the emperor with such ferocity that even his followers found themselves recoiling away from him in fear, and yet still the boy wouldn't answer. By now the girl had had gone limp- she couldn't breathe and was turning steadily blue, Chris could see that she wouldn't be able to survive the grip much longer, and yet one glance at her friend told Chris he wasn't going to give up the name.

"Wyatt stop!" Begged Chris, stepping forward, and placing his hand on his brother's arm, "Please!" He pleaded when Wyatt ignored him, "Please Wyatt, they're just kids!" Wyatt turned his face to him, and Chris could see the fury in his eyes at Chris' defiance. He said nothing but instead closed his fist suddenly. The whole room heard the crack as the poor girl's neck snapped, and they all watched her lifeless body fall to the floor. The boy let out a yell of despair flung himself on his fallen friend, sobbing desperately. Chris couldn't watch, he fought back the tears and tried to keep as emotionless as possible, as Wyatt's cold gaze once more rested on him.

"Find out what he knows." He ordered addressing the demons that had brought the teenagers in, "Do whatever it takes." The two demons nodded, grabbing the boy by each arm before shimmering him away. "GET OUT!" He roared at the rest of the crowed who all instantly shimmered or flamed out or ran for the door. In less than twenty seconds the two brothers were alone in the large room standing over a body they had both helped to put there.

Wyatt seized Chris by the back to the neck, and leaned in so their faces were barely an inch apart.

"How dare you criticise me in front of my own court." He hissed making Chris wince. "You swore you would follow and obey me and yet in mere hours you defy me to protect a witch who has stolen from both of us."

"I'm sorry!" Cried Chris, shifting in Wyatt's grip as his fingers dug further into his neck, "Please! I swear I'll never do it again- but they were just children... they were innocent!"

"No!" Exclaimed Wyatt, pushing Chris away from him with such force that he fell to the floor next to the young girl's body. "You know that page could only have come from Aunt Phoebe, and if they're working for her, then they are far from innocent." Chris looked down at the corpse, the girls face was frozen in a mask of terror, her eyes were wide open and her mouth was open in a never ending scream. As Chris looked further, however, he suddenly realised the girl was familiar. He had known her back before Wyatt had turned- she had been a friend of Prue- Phoebe's oldest daughter, and Chris suspected that the spell had been from her, not her mother.

"At least you see now what happens to those who deceive and defy me." Considered Wyatt with a sneer as he surveyed the girl's broken body. "Now go to bed." He ordered despite the fact it was barely nine, "I will deal with you tomorrow."

Chris didn't argue, but rather fled from the court room before his brother changed his mind, he didn't slow down until he entered his small room, at which point he collapsed on to his bed and allowed his grief to consume him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chris wasn't allowed much time to rest as, at one in the morning, there came a sharp rap on his door.

"The Emperor demands your presence." Said the demon that entered, not waiting for Chris' permission to do so.

Chris sighed, struggling to open his eyes but he didn't complain. He quickly got up, threw on the clothes he had been wearing the previous day, and followed the demon down a network of corridors until they reached a briefing room near the residential area which was reserved for demons.

"Ahh Chris, good." Greeted Wyatt as they arrived. Chris walked hesitantly into the room and to his surprise found they were not alone. Also in the room were two dozen demons, all standing in formation and armed with Athames. Chris could feel every eye on him as he entered. "I'm assigning you to patrol duty starting tonight." Wyatt informed Chris, who nodded despondently. "You'll be working under Captain Henry and you'll follow him exactly as you would any other..."

"Wait, Junior?" Clarified a surprised Chris. "He's leading demons now?"

"A lot can happen in six months little cousin." Came a familiar, low, voice from behind him. Chris turned around to see a tall dark haired man standing in the doorway.

Henry Junior was Paige's adopted son. His birth parents had been killed in a demon attack when he was five, Wyatt six and Chris four. After Paige died, Junior had fallen out with Henry Senior and moved in with his cousins, Piper and Leo. Then, after Piper died Wyatt and Henry grew closer and closer, both determined to avenge the deaths of their mothers. After Wyatt began his plans of world domination- using demons as his pawns, he and Henry fell out for a while as Henry followed his mother's words that demons were unreliable and dangerous. Henry never tried to join the rest of his family in hiding, but he also never involved himself greatly in Wyatt's plans- preferring to use a small team of witches he assembled to chase down any demons not prepared to follow their new master. The pair got on better now, but Chris was greatly surprised to find Henry willingly working with so many demons.

"Henry, good to see you." Smiled Chris, before turning back to his brother. "How I'm I supposed to go on patrol if I have no powers to defend myself?" He pointed out. "Unless you're going to..." Before he could finish, however, Wyatt reached his hand inside his jacket and pulled out an athame, holding it out to Chris.

"There will be someone with you the whole time to take care of most problems, but if anything does happen; I believe you are skilled enough with one of these to defend yourself." Chris sighed, stifling a yawn and nodded, taking the knife. "Excellent." He declared with a clap of his hands, "Then Henry, I'll hand over to you." And without another word, he turned on the spot and walked out of the room.

Henry wasted no time in dispensing orders- distributing his small group of demons to pockets all over the city. Of course because of the curfew, probes and various other enchantments Wyatt had placed on the city, it was highly unlikely that there would be any problems, but Wyatt liked to keep a few demons on the streets at all times just to dissuade anyone thinking of making trouble.

Henry had assigned himself to work with Chris and Chris suspected he might not be as prepared to forgive him or as trusting of him as Wyatt was. He seized Chris's arm slightly tighter than necessary and shimmered the pair of them out to where they would be patrolling.

Henry had been adopted from mortals and hadn't developed any powers naturally. After Wyatt grew in strength, however, he helped his younger cousin by bestowing upon him certain demonic powers such as shimmering and energy balls to make him of more use.

The pair patrolled silently for a few hours. Occasionally a demon would appear to give their captain updates, but mostly the men walked up and down a series of streets in silence as Chris struggled to stay awake. Eventually, at just after four, Henry grew bored of patrolling and sat down on a park bench, beckoning Chris to join him as he took out a bottle of a strange looking concoction, took a swig and then offered it to Chris- who declined.

"Probably for the best." Said Henry. "It's meant to be some sort of replacement for beer but it tastes terrible until you get used to it." Chris smiled and nodded but said nothing. He had never really been that close to Henry or that great at small talk. The pair sat silently on the bench for a while as Henry finished his 'beer' until eventually he once more broke the silence. "Why'd you do it?" He asked, not looking at Chris. "Go against your brother like that, I mean." Chris sighed.

"I thought it was the right thing to do." Replied Chris after a moment's consideration. "I mean you can't tell me that there aren't things about this world that you don't want to change."

"Of course not, but that doesn't mean you can just wipe the slate clean and start again. Look, I might not have always agreed with the way Wyatt handled thing, but I still believe that what he did was for the best." Chris shrugged and leaned back on the bench, staring up at the stars. He hated to see San-Francisco in the day light. Then you could see every last wound on its once beautiful skyline Wyatt had inflicted, but at night, when all he could see was stars, he could pretend like none of this had happened.

"So if you had the chance you wouldn't change anything?" He challenged. "You wouldn't remove the demons, or save all the dead innocents? What about our family? Are you glad we lost them as well?"

At this point, Henry's tolerance of Chris' treasonous talk reached its limit and he stood up rapidly, seizing Chris by the front of his shirt, propelling him into the nearest tree.

"Now you listen to me-" he hissed, "-you can't talk like that anymore. Wyatt gave you one chance to prove yourself, and if you fail, it's not just you who will suffer. Now, honestly, I couldn't care less what happens to you at this point, but Wyatt knows that the best way of punishing you is to punish other people and he is not going to stop with your girlfriend. Other people's lives are at stake now- because of you- so you need to decide where your loyalties are right now, and then you either say, and shut up, or you leave- you find our family and kill all the demons you want, but I promise you that if you do, you will lose your brother, and you will lose me, and there will be no coming back. Understand?"

Henry's hand was pressed against Chris' throat, preventing him from answering verbally, so instead he just nodded his head emphatically and Henry released him with a small nod.

"Wyatt may trust you, but I don't." He sneered. "I will be watching you."


	5. Chapter 5

"Well?" Demanded Wyatt of his cousin.

"You were right." Replied Henry. "He tried to turn me." Wyatt's face contorted in frustration, but he nodded- he was hardly surprised.

"And what do you recommend?" He asked- completely at a loss as to how to handle his petulant little brother.

"You know what I recommend." Junior reminded him. "He's a threat, and you need to treat him like you would any other threat. You need to remove him- use him as an example to any other would-be traitor that no one can get away with defying you." Wyatt's movement was quick and impulsive. He shot his hand out to the side, telekinetically slamming his cousin into the wall. Despite everything he had done, he wasn't ready to give up on Chris just yet. "But as I'm sensing that isn't an option-" Junior hurriedly added, not bothering to fight against his restraints- "You need to keep him busy. During the day he can stay here, do whatever jobs you think he should be doing, and then at night he can patrol with my men. We'll keep him so busy that when he's not with one of us he'll want to do nothing but sleep. He has no powers, not access to spells or potions books; so he's not threat on his own. You've locked away his only ally and as he'll only be around our- your- most loyal men, we can be sure he won't be making any more." He proposed, and apparently this suggestion was deemed agreeable as Wyatt freed him from his hold. "But you know if we do do that, I still can't guarantee his safety- especially without his powers."

"Send him to patrol by the manor, it's the most magically protected place in the city, I upgraded its defences since he broke in, so now it doesn't even really need a guard. If anyone is stupid enough to use magic there, probes would be on them in seconds to secure them. Plus, I can magically track him so as if he gets in to any danger _you _will be alerted to deal with the situation." Instructed Wyatt. "It'll also mean we can keep an eye on him in case he decides to do something stupid."

"So you want me to babysit him."

"For now." Wyatt confirmed. "I also want you to remove any demon that knows about Chris' recent activity. They're a liability." 

"Those are some of your most loyal demons. They are of far more use to you then Chris is."

"True." Agreed Wyatt. "But then again, if they are truly loyal, then they will want to kill Chris for his treachery- just as his own cousin did. And if they don't want to... well then, I guess they're not loyal enough."

"And if they were planning to respect your command to keep Chris alive because they understand he's your brother?" 

"Then they'd be, at least in part, loyal to Chris." Pointed out Wyatt. "And then they definitely can't be trusted." Callum grinned; he couldn't dispute logic like that- especially if it gave him licence to kill some upper level demons.

"And if, no, when he screws up again?"

"_If _he screws up, then I will start by paying a visit to his beautiful assassin. If he ignores this warning, then I may become reacquainted with some of his old school friends."

"And if he betrays you to this extent again?"

"Then he's all yours. But for as long as he appears to remain loyal- then we keep an eye on him, and we keep him alive."


	6. Chapter 6

For the next seven months, Chris did as he was told. During the day, he would undertake whatever 'educational' task Wyatt would assign to him- which usually involved watching demons interrogate suspected resistance members, or standing behind his brother during their sentences- and then at night he would wonder the streets surrounding the manor he used to call home keeping an eye out for anyone stupid enough to attempt to break in. In the first few weeks, he had barely been given the chance for more than one or two hours of sleep a night, but after a while the sleep deprivation caused him to collapse whilst he had been out on patrol and after that demons weren't allowed to wake him until he had had at least six or seven hours to rest.

Of course, Chris couldn't always do exactly as he was told. He refused to help Wyatt's demons in their 'interrogations' which usually involved slicing open their skin with athames or throwing energy balls at their legs and arms until they signed whatever confession they were given just to make the pain stop. In Wyatt's court rooms, as well, he refused to watch as Wyatt carried out the horrific punishments he inflicted on the 'traitors'. Wyatt ha told him that by turning away from the scene, Chris was undermining his authority as if Emperor Wyatt's own brother disagreed with his actions then it made others begin to question him too. Wyatt would therefore use his telekinesis to force Chris' head round to watch as, with his other hand, he would carry out the sentence.

Chris had soon learnt not to push Wyatt too far though as Henry had been correct. Wyatt didn't punish Chris' defiance with traditional punishments like grounding him or docking his allowance, but by getting to him by harming other people- not just Bianca but others. Each time Chris defied his brother, Wyatt would go out into the world and bring back another person from Chris's past- including his old best friend, his first crush and even his elementary school form tutor. He locked them all up in a specially designed cage with enough facilities for however many unfortunate prisoners Wyatt added and which was equipped with cameras which linked directly to a screen in Chris' room which he could never turn off- so whenever he was alone in his room, he would always be forced to see his bad ideas had consequences.

Chris had no idea where in Wyatt's vast palace the Cage was located, or even if it was in the palace at all. Wyatt kept most of his most valuable prisoners in the dungeons underground, but he also had hundreds of prisons across the world he could also be hiding his old friends in. Wyatt was careful to keep this information from him and Chris was slightly proud to realise that even though he had no powers and was completely at his brother's mercy, Wyatt still viewed him as a threat.

Wyatt had promised him that if one day Chris could prove once more that he was completely loyal to him, his friends would be released and he may even get his powers back, but if anything, his behaviour over the last seven months had probably cemented in Wyatt's mind that his little brother would never truly be on his side- at least that was until one fateful night when Chris was once more patrolling is assigned streets, when he heard the sound of running feet by the mansion, and as he set off at a run in that direction, he heard a sudden explosion and then heard the familiar sound of a magic alarm blearing.

The figures were shrouded in the darkness of the night, but as Chris approached he realised he recognised their shadows. He slowed down, scarcely allowing himself to believe that they really could be there.

"P...Paige?" He stuttered. "Mu... I mean Piper?" The figures turned to face them, but before either of them could do anything, Chris reached into his belt, pulled out his athame, and threw it directly at the startled sisters.


	7. Chapter 7

"I don't think there is a future us, Paige." She said sadly. "I think we might be dead."

Piper and Paige had little time to contemplate on their apparent demise, however, they needed to find Phoebe and Leo quickly if they had any chance of rescuing Chris. They agreed that the most probable place they would go would be the manor, so that was where they decided to head- if nothing else then hopefully they could consult the future book of shadows for help with what to do next.

Even though it was the middle of the night, the streets of San-Francisco seemed eerily quiet. They could see no movement in any of the houses and, more worryingly, many of them seemed to have scorch marks along the brick work, and there were even a few houses which had been completely boarded up. The closer they got to the manor, in fact, the more houses there were which were damaged, some beyond repair.

The more of the damage the sisters took in, the more their concern grew, and the faster their pace became, so that by the time they had reached the edge of Prescott Street, they were running flat out. As they rounded the corner, they saw, to their great surprise that while every other house on the street had its windows boarded up and charred bricks, the manor looked exactly the same as it did in their own time. Even the garden appeared to have been maintained. In fact, the only difference seemed to be a large wooden sign which had been placed in the front garden. The sisters exchanged nervous looks, slowing down as they approached the manor.

"Freeze." Yelled a voice from behind them just as they drew level with the house. Piper and Paige spun around only to find themselves facing one of the largest men they had ever seen. He was clearly a demon- that much was made obvious by its black eyes and grotesque grin. That and he had conjured a fireball in his palm. "Do you not know there is a curfew in force?" He questioned, advancing towards them. "Emperor Wyatt's orders. No one is to be out in the open past eleven o'clock unless they are on official business and you two don't look official to me." Paige tried to stutter a response, but Piper had no time for demons trying to give them orders- especially not while her sister and ex-husband were missing.

"Do _you_ not know who we are?" She retorted, not giving the demon a chance to reply before blasting it into oblivion. Apparently, however, that was the wrong thing to do as even before the demon ash had settled on the ground, a loud siren blared all around them.

"What the hell is that?" Yelled Paige, "And what was that demon talking about? Who is Emperor..." She suddenly cut off as metallic edge of something moving very fast towards them suddenly caught her eye. Not having time to deflect it with her powers, she dived to the ground, pulling Piper down with her. The blade, however, passed right through the middle of where the sisters had originally been standing and to Paige's surprise she didn't hear it clatter down on the street, but rather the definite sound of it hitting something hard and metallic not a metre behind them, which made a large crashing sound as it fell to the ground.

The siren was still blaring deafeningly loudly and the sisters didn't even hear the sound of the athame thrower running towards them and were only alerted to his presence, when they felt a hand grab each of their arms, pulling them to their feet. The sisters struggled to break free of his grip, pushing them away from them, stumbling out of the shadow of the house so his face was suddenly illuminated by the light of one of the dim street lights.

"Chris?" Exclaimed Piper in surprise. He had had a haircut since they had seen him less than a day ago, and he somehow looked even skinnier and more tiered then he had been, but he was definitely their young white-lighter. "What happened to you? We thought you were imprisoned somewhere! How are you here? Didn't you get our message?"

"I think how are you here is the more pressing question." Chris pointed out, glancing nervously around him.

"The elders want answers." Replied Paige simply. "They agreed to send us here to get some. Chris, what's going on? Why are demons out in the open?"

"What is this?" Cut in Piper, who was looking down at the large, thin metallic object Chris's knife had brought down. It was quite tall and the front it had a variety of metal tubes protruding from it and a large lens into which Chris had thrown his athame.

"It's a drone." Said Chris dismissively. "It detects magic and contains persecutors in a sort of crystal cage. It sends out an alert if any magic is used- that's what the alarm is, there are going to be more demons here any second. A lot of them."

"Demons?" Questioned Piper, not feeling the same sense of urgency Chris was apparently feeling. "Chris why are demons out in the open- has magic been revealed?" Chris didn't answer. He looked down at his watch, and back up at the sisters, clear desperation now in his eyes.

"Look, I'll explain everything to you, I swear." He promised, walking over to the drone, pulling the athame out of the lens and pressing it into Piper's hand. "But now, you need to run. There's a hospital a few streets down, hide there until you hear what sounds like a school bell at three o'clock, and then orb straight to P3. Whatever you do; don't use your powers- other than that one orb, don't leave P3 until I come to find you, and, most importantly, don't trust anyone. No matter whom they claim to be." He pushed them forward, his urgency becoming more and more obvious.

"Chris, come with us." Urged Paige- even though they still had no idea if they could even trust Chris, he was clearly in danger from something and Paige wanted to help him. Chris, however, shook his head.

"Go. Now!" He begged, still glancing around. "I promise I will meet you at P3 soon." The sisters tried to object again, but Chris was now forcefully pushing them away and, in the end, the sisters gave up. They ran to the end of the road, turning the corner just as they heard more voices ringing out from where Chris still stood. They resisted the urge to look back around the corner as they kept running towards the hospital, praying Chris knew what he was doing. They needed answers and they needed Chris alive and free if they had any hope of getting them.


	8. Chapter 8

The sisters had barely disappeared round the corner when five demons shimmered in front in, surrounding him and grinning menacingly. Henry shimmered in directly in front of him and his eyes quickly scanned the scene- taking in the scorch marks from the demon vanquish, and the broken drone before focusing his eyes on Chris.

"Well."

"I can explain." Said Chris quickly, multiple excuses running through his head.

"Good. Emperor Wyatt will be happy to hear that." Smiled Henry Cruelly. "Did you do this?" He asked, gesturing towards the burnt pavement and drone. Chris knew the truth wasn't going to stay hidden for long, but the truth would be far more difficult to control if this many demons were to hear the Charmed Ones had remerged.

"Yes." He lied, staring directly into his cousin's eye.

"Why?"

"He attacked me first." Replied Chris simply. "He accused me of betraying my brother and said I deserved to die for it. He conjured a fireball, and before he had a chance to do anything else, I stabbed him with my athame. The drone must have detected the vanquish it came up behind me and, instinctively, I stabbed it as well."

Henry narrowed his eyes at his cousin- clearly trying to tell whether Chris' story was the truth or not. Before he could pass judgement, however, a demon investigating the damaged drone interrupted.

"Captain." He called.

"What is it?" Snapped Henry, not breaking his gaze with Chris.

"It's the drone, sir. The boy destroyed it before it could transmit, but it did detect something." Chris' heart went cold as he imagined what sort of damming evidence the drone could hold. "It was able to identify magic used in this area, sir. More than that. It was able to identify the origin."

Henry moved swiftly to the demon, to see the read out from the drone for himself and when he turned his face back to the rest of the group, his expression was a mask of fury which could rival Wyatt's. He conjured a low level energy ball in his hand and sent it straight at Chris' chest, sending him flying straight back into the two demons behind him, who seized him by his upper arm to prevent him falling to the ground.

"You lying bastard." Hissed Henry, conjuring another energy ball which this time he sent to Chris' shoulder. Ignoring the cry of pain from his cousin, he continued. "You you've had powers all his time."

"What? No!" Said Chris honestly. "Why-"

"It says Halliwell Chris!" Spat Henry, seizing Chris by the back of his neck and dragging him over to the fallen probe, forcing his head down so his nose was inches away from the small read out. Chris' eyes grew wide as he saw the single word in bold: **HALLIWELL.**

"Henry-" Began Chris, but his cousin cut him off with a wave of his hand as he turned to the rest of the demons.

"Return to your posts." He ordered. The demons, seeing the fierce look in their captain's eyes didn't even hesitate before giving small bows and shimmering away. "As for you." He growled at Chris. "This was your last chance Chris. Wyatt's not going to give you another."

Henry shimmered Chris directly into Wyatt's office, along with the drone and ordered him to wait before shimmering away once more. Chris began to pace the room, trying to work out exactly how to deal with the situation. Before he had come up with anything resembling a plan, however, Henry shimmered back into the room.

"He's coming." He informed him simply. "I've told him everything and he isn't happy." Chris held his breath, waiting for his brother's arrival.

He didn't have to wait long.

"YOU LYING LITTE-" Yelled Wyatt, his words arriving in the room before he had even fully appeared.

"Wyatt... I can-" Chris stammered, but he was cut off before he could finish.

"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" Ordered Wyatt. Chris didn't have to be told twice. "Where's the athame?" He demanded, now turning towards his cousin, who didn't seem to understand. "The athame he used to take down the probe, where is it?" Henry didn't know why Wyatt wanted the knife, but more importantly he didn't have a clue where it was.

"The knife wasn't at the scene... my lord." He added for safety. Wyatt paused and Chris swallowed. His brother was intelligent and it appeared he was putting together the pieces of the puzzle without giving Chris a chance to justify himself. "It is possible he orbed it away." Suggested Henry- who wasn't quite as quick as his cousin. "You know, to hide the evidence."

"Why would he hide the piece of evidence that proves he didn't use magic?" Questioned Wyatt angrily. "Why wouldn't he orb the drone away, or even himself?" Henry had no answer, but Chris suspected Wyatt did. "Unless of course, there was someone else there." His eyes snapped on to Chris' and try as he might, he couldn't turn away. It felt as if his brother was scouring his very soul with his gaze, hunting for the truth. "And that someone needed it more than him so, like the good little Boy Scout he is; he gave it away." His voice was softer now, but it had a steely glint to it, which felt even more dangerous than his yells. "Maybe they had no means of protection other than their magic and Christopher here didn't want them being found by any more of my drones." Chris tried to keep a neutral face, but Wyatt already knew the truth. "They were the ones that killed the demon and attracted the drone, weren't they brother?" He declared.

"Wyatt..." Tried Chris once more, but his brother clenched his fist, and Chris could feel his windpipe begin to close.

"And if it was their magic that called the drone, then that means you were meeting with our family tonight. How very touching." He sneered, holding up his hand to stop Henry who looked ready to attack. "Or at least it would be were it not for the small matter that our family leads the resistance against me." Chris fought to make a sound, but Wyatt's grip was so tight not even a squeak could emerge from his mouth. "Who did you meet with?" He demanded, loosening his grip slightly to let his brother talk.

"It was the sisters." Choked Chris, collapsing from his seat to the floor.

"Aunt Phoebe?" Spat Wyatt. Chris shook his head.

"It was Aunt Paige and Mum." He gasped, staring imploringly up at Wyatt, praying he would believe him.

"That's impossible." Dismissed Wyatt, but there was something in his brother's gaze which made him not so certain. "They're dead."

"They weren't where I went." Pointed out Chris, letting his statement hang in the air for a moment as his brother and cousin recalled what 'where' he was referring to.

"You mean..." Began a horrified looking Henry.

"They followed me back." Confirmed Chris, still staring at Wyatt. "I'm so sorry; I swear I planned none of it." Wyatt appeared to have frozen as his brain processed the news. Henry looked to him for instructions, but he simply gazed into the middle distance as his mind whirred through every possible outcome of this revelation. "Wyatt-" Said Chris nervously after a few moments of silence. "Wyatt please... what are you going to do?"


	9. Chapter 9

The sisters stopped running when they were a few streets away from the manor. Neither of them spoke as they continued to make their way towards where Chris said they would find a hospital- they were both just caught up in their own worries- not only about what would happen to Chris but also about the fate of Phoebe and Leo.

The streets were deserted, and it was eerily quiet but as they approached what in their time had been a row of office blocks, they began to hear a bustle of new sounds and activity.

"What the..." Murmured Paige, coming to a dead halt before the tallest of the buildings. It's once dull grey exterior had been painted over with a large red cross, spanning the entire length of the building. This part of the city was by far the least damaged area they had seen and it looked as though someone had even gone as far as repairing some of the damaged houses and even replanting long dead flowerbeds.

There was no one outside the building but they could hear a cacophony of noise from inside and as they approached they spotted three more figures rounding the corner- two of them struggling to hold up the limping third.

Suddenly the injured third lost their balance and despite the support of her friends, fell to the ground, falling into a pool of light falling from one of the hospital's windows- illuminating her many injuries. From what they could see of the girl's face she looked to be around Chris' age, but it was impossible to be certain as she had a large gash across one eye, which had swelled to cover up half her face, and there was still blood freely flowing down the other half.

"Callie!" Exclaimed one of her friends, dropping down beside her. It was clear he too was injured- his face was covered in bruises and he winced at every movement to help his friend back to her feet. "Come on." He begged as Callie's eyes began to close, "Please, we're almost there!"

Piper and Paige ran over to help, but the moment they drew close the third member of the party- a tall, fierce looking girl blocked their way.

"Who are you?" She demanded, clenching her fists in preparation to defend her friends.

"We're friends." Said Piper ambiguously- remembering Chris' warning about trusting no one. "It looks like you could use some help here, what happened?" The girl narrowed her eyes clearly just as distrusting of them, but one glance over her shoulder reminded her that she had no real choice if she wanted to save her friend.

"We were attacked." She replied, her voice slightly less hostile than before. "We were out after curfew." She added, as if that was all the explanation that was needed.

"How can simply breaking curfew warrant this?" Asked Paige incredulously, motioning to the collapsed girl who was now drifting in and out of consciousness.

"Well, because the demons have free reign of the city at night." Replied the woman in a tone which suggested Paige really should have known that. "Thank god I got there before they really did any damage." She said, pulling the hilt of a knife part way out of her jacket to indicate how she had saved her friends.

"Mandy!" Called the boy urgently, pulling everyone's attention back to him and Callie whose breathing was becoming increasingly shallow. "We have to get her inside now; the white-lighters are her only chance!" Mandy nodded, turning to Paige and Piper expectantly.

"Give me a hand will you?" She requested, "Jake's right, she won't hold on much longer- she needs a white lighter now!" 

"Wait, white-lighters are in the open too?" Questioned Piper, as she helped the injured Callie to her feet, looping one of Callie's arms over her shoulder as Mandy did the same on the other side. Paige helped Jake up, letting him lean on her as they continued their slow progress towards the makeshift hospital, the entrance to which was now only a few yards away.

"How do you not know any of this?" Asked a suspicious Mandy, her breath slightly heavier under the weight of her nearly dead friend. "I thought it was the same across the country, across the world even."

Piper didn't respond, she had a thousand more questions, but this girl was already suspicious enough of them, and it was important that she didn't detain them if they were going to get to P3 and get their answers from Chris. She exchanged a glance with Paige who was clearly just as concerned about what had happened as Piper, then, as they entered the hospital, Paige's eyes suddenly grew wide with wonder and amazement.

The hospitals were one of the few positive outcomes of Wyatt's rule. As magic had already been exposed, and most of the witches killed, there were a lot of spare white-lighters who Wyatt could either kill or put to use. He knew that the White-lighters would never directly serve him, but if he were to set up places where they could freely help innocents, then not only would they be too distracted to rebel, but the presence of the hospitals might also help to build his reputation as a fair and 'benevolent' ruler. The hospitals were also one of his biggest oversights, however, as although it did distract many white-lighters, others used the fact that they were allowed to use their powers in the hospital as a chance to help the resistance- not only heeling their wounds, but also transporting them back to base at the end of shifts, completely under the nose of their emperor.

The moment they were inside, three orderly's hurried over to Jake and Callie, and rushed them both into an elevator, while a fourth ushered Mandy and the sisters into what had once been a conference room where there were about twenty other people also waiting for the white-lighters to do their work. In the room a large clock above the doorway read 02:48- giving them only twelve minutes until Chris had instructed them to orb away.

"I've worked it out." Said Mandy in a whisper, glancing over to the entrance hall where two burly demons stood guard. Piper and Paige stared at her blankly- uncertain of what Mandy knew. "I know why you don't know what's been going on." She explained. "You're from the sanctuary!" Her eyes were suddenly wide with excitement and she spoke in the same tone that a child might say; 'you know Santa!'

"The what?" Asked Paige, relieved that Mandy hadn't actually uncovered their secret.

"The sanctuary" Pressed Mandy "-or whatever you resistance guys actually call it. I thought it was just a legend- that the Emperor had crushed it years ago- but here you are. I can't believe it." Piper and Paige exchanged bemused looks, but Mandy didn't seem to notice as she continued in her same excitable gait. "This must be fate! My friends and I, we-" She dropped her voice even lower, forcing the sisters to lean in to hear her words. "-we sort of started our own resistance too! We patrol the streets at night and help people escape the demons." The sisters frowned in concern for the small group's safety.

"That's really dangerous!" Cautioned Paige. "Are you guys' witches or something?" Mandy snorted as if the idea was ludicrous beyond belief.

"Witches? No! I didn't think there were any witches left!" She said, her eyes gleaming- more convinced than ever that the women were indeed part of the resistance. "Well apart from the emperor and his family of course." She added. Paige glanced nervously up at the clock- they had less than five minutes now and they needed to find a safe place to orb away. Piper, however, was more concerned with Mandy's words- she had heard mention of the emperor before, and each mention of the cruel man filled her with increasing dread.

"Who is the Emperor?" She asked nervously. Mandy laughed at the very question.

"Wow, you must have been away for a long time to not know of him!" She said. "He's the most famous person on this planet, everyone knows his story!"

"But who is he?" Pressed Piper desperately.

"Emperor Wyatt, of course." Said Mandy, glancing from Piper to Paige in confusion. "Emperor Wyatt Halliwell."

Paige's hand shot to her mouth, and Piper collapsed forward, overcome with guilt and despair. Mandy watched the pair of them intently, trying to understand their dismayed actions.

Paige was the first to recover from the shock, and a quick look at the time forced her to push the thought of the Emperor's identity to the back of her mind until they were safely in P3.

"Mandy, we need to get out of here now." She stated, knowing they wouldn't be able to sneak away from the woman in time. "Is there anywhere in the building we can go to in private?" Mandy thought about this for a second and nodded.

"I used to work here." She said. "There's an old storage room near the toilets, but if you're leaving here with a white-lighter then you'll have to get upstairs- they're not allowed down here."

"Don't worry about that, just tell us where the room is and then forget you ever met us." Said Paige- they now had less than a minute. Mandy nodded- clearly too caught up in the excitement of working with resistance members to question them. She gave them quick instructions- suggesting they leave by the back door to the room to avoid the attention of the demons and orderly's. Paige nodded and thanked her, but Piper didn't move. "Piper- we have to go!" Insisted Paige to a distraught Piper, who didn't even seem to hear her. She glanced once more at the clock and saw that the bell would go off at any time now and if they couldn't orb then then they would miss their chance. "Mandy you need to leave now." She instructed quietly.

"What?" Exclaimed Mandy. "But my friends-"

"If they're being looked after by white-lighters then they'll be fine." Reassured Paige. But if you're seen to be with us by those demons then you won't be." Mandy glanced over at the demons with a concerned frown.

"Why? What are you going to do?" She asked with trepidation.

"Just go!" Insisted Paige. Mandy nodded, holding out a hand to Paige, who shook it, before turning around and walking out of the hospital without a second glance, muttering something about 'the kindness of strangers' just as she passed the demons.

She was barely out of sight when, as Chris had promised, the sound of a school bell rang through the building, signalling the end of the White-lighters shifts and Paige grabbed Piper by the shoulder, orbing them both away to P3.

The moment they landed, Piper seemed to return to her senses. She stood up, slightly unsteadily and wondered over to the bar, which remarkably was still stocked. She grabbed a bottle of wine from the shelf, pouring herself a large glass. Paige meanwhile was looking around the rest of the building.

It appeared to be the only place in the whole of the city which was completely unchanged. There was no sign of any damage to the building and a thin layer of dust suggested no one had been inside for a long time. In fact the club looked as if it had just been set up ready to be opened at any second.

"It can't be him." Said Piper, breaking Paige out of her thoughts. "It just can't be."

"I know you don't want to believe it Piper but-" Said Paige sympathetically, moving round the bar to put an arm around her sister.

"No." Cut in Piper angrily. "It's not him Paige. The girl was lying."

"Look, I hate to say it Piper but it makes sense." She sighed; carefully tightening her grip around her sister's shoulder's to prevent her from blowing anything up. "I mean Chris said he came back to save Wyatt- what if this is what he was trying to save Wyatt from?"

"So what, now we trust Chris?" Spat Piper, "He's been lying to us from the beginning Paige."

"If this is the truth, then can you really blame him?" She pointed out reasonably. "I mean, we were hardly going to trust him if he told us that your son and our nephew was some sort of dark overlord were we." Piper didn't respond- refusing to even consider the possibility that her son could be responsible for all that they had seen.

"We need to find Phoebe." She said eventually, Paige nodded, but a dark thought was entering her mind. If Wyatt was evil now, then what of their sister? Phoebe had turned to evil once before after all, only this time her sisters wouldn't have been there to pull her back.


	10. Chapter 10

Phoebe awoke with a gasp and looked around. She was in a small room, which was occupied by two other beds and not much else. She slipped quickly out of bed and hurried to a mirror, anxious to check out her looks in the future- as she hadn't really had the opportunity last time she visited. She had grown her hair out again, so now it was shoulder length, and was its natural brown colour. Phoebe wasn't sure about it, but she supposed her tastes must have changed. She didn't spend too long in front of the mirror, however, as she soon remembered she had a job to do, so hurriedly left the room to find her sisters.

The building she was in was small, and she soon stepped out on to golden sands, and was forced to shield her eyes from the sudden, unexpected glare of the sun.

"Hey you're up." Came an unfamiliar voice from behind her. She turned around to face a man with short dark hair and a wide grin.

"...Hey." Replied Phoebe, panicking slightly- not wanting to give away she wasn't from this time until she found out more. "...So what's up?" She asked, glancing around the beach hoping for clues as to where she was.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Replied the stranger, "You've been in your bed all day, I was going to wake you, but Prue said you've been having that nightmare again, is everything okay?"

"Wait, Prue?" Questioned Phoebe, knowing it was stupid to even hope he could be talking about his deceased sister.

"Yes Prue." Replied the man, "You know- tall, dark hair- looks painfully like her father." Phoebe had, of course, no idea what the man was talking about, but nodded all the same.

"Right, yeah Prue- of course. Sorry, I err... didn't sleep well- thought you were talking about my sister for a moment." The man smiled sadly and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Phoebe smiled up at him, just as a female voice rang out, and a teenager ran up to them.

"Mum, you're awake!" Exclaimed the girl. Phoebe's eyes opened wide. 'Mum?' did she really say 'mum'? "Mum, are you alright?" Phoebe pulled her attention back to the teenager.

"Err... Yeah, I'm fine." She replied- very distractedly, "Have you guys seen my sisters, I need to talk to them." The teenager and man exchanged concerned looks- making Phoebe very nervous. "What's the matter?" She asked.

"Phoebe. Are you sure you're alright?" Asked the man, his hand returning to her shoulder, and his stance shifting as if he were concerned that at any moment Phoebe might faint into his arms. Phoebe's eyes flicked from her daughter to the stranger, trying to work out what she was missing.

"Right..." She said slowly, determined not to blow her cover so early, "I'm fine, and I know I can't talk to my sisters because they're... gone." The pair both nodded slightly, as if to confirm her guess, before the teen turned to the man.

"Uncle Henry, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Wait, Uncle?" Asked Phoebe instinctively, kicking herself internally as she realised how slow she must be sounding. "As in... Paige's husband?" Henry nodded slowly at this guess, but said nothing. The pair moved away from Phoebe, but she noticed that as they exchanged in hushed whispers, they would occasionally throw furtive looks her way. She was just beginning to think that maybe they suspected something, when Prue started speaking as if everything was perfectly normal.

"Oh, Henry, by the way- have you seen my brother- I haven't seen him since breakfast and I think he might be up to something." Henry shrugged and shook his head.

"No, I haven't seen him since yesterday- is he not with one of the Valkyries?" Prue shook her head sadly, and they turned to Phoebe. "Have you seen him at all?" He asked. Phoebe shook her head, determined to be more confident.

"I only just woke up." She pointed out, "Maybe he's playing with one of his cousins." She suggested- knowing for a fact that her son would have at least one cousin- Wyatt. Apparently this answer was not satisfactory, however.

Henry glanced over at Prue who nodded and then flicked her fingers at Phoebe in much the same way Piper would blast a demon and, in much the same way as a demon would, Phoebe found herself in a large amount of pain as she was thrown backwards several feet, landing on the soft golden sand.

Before she had a chance to get to her feat, her future daughter and brother in law were standing over her, preventing her from moving. Phoebe noticed with trepidation that she was now not only faced with Prue's blasting power, but Henry had also acquired an athame, which he seemed to handle with great confidence as he pressed it under Phoebe's chin, pushing it upwards, forcing her to face her attackers.

"Who the hell are you?" Growled Prue, "And what have you done with my mother?"


	11. Chapter 11

"You're right, it's not her."

"I knew it. It's an imposter. Wyatt's found a way in- we need to leave now!"

"No." 

"What do you mean? If he can get one of his minions in here- in place of mum of all people- then who knows how many more spies there are." 

"This isn't Wyatt's doing." 

"Of course it is! Who else would send shape shifters after us?" 

"She's not a shapeshifter. And don't you think if it were they might have done enough research to not be fooled with fake family members- not to mention the fact that every demon on the earth and under it is fully aware of the fate of her sisters." 

"You just said she was a shapeshifter!" 

"No, I said it's not your mum."

"Well what else could she be if she's not my mum and she's not a shapeshifter?"

"Phoebe Halliwell"

"You just said she wasn't my mum! How can she also be Phoebe Halliwell!"

"I don't know."

"You're making no sense!"

"Look. I've been an empath since before I could talk. It was Phoebe who taught me how to control my powers, I could recognise her mix of emotions blindfolded and this is her. No shapeshifter could impersonate them this well." 

"Then she is my mother." 

"Not yet." 

"What do you mean!" 

"I mean I recognise her emotions the way they were when we were kids. Before all of this started. It's like she's regressed and the last ten years never happened. She's experienced the loss of one sister, not three and her husband." 

"So what are you saying? Time travel?"

"More likely a memory spell gone wrong, I know she was trying to remember specific pages of the book of shadows., Either way she is going to be no use in organising the reconnaissance groups today. Stay with her; see what she remembers then try and bring her back."

xx

Phoebe woke up several hours later with a terrible pain on the back of her head. She didn't remember falling unconscious, but presumed it had happened fairly soon after her future daughter had blasted her for the second time.

She groaned as she sat up and took in her surroundings. She appeared to be in some sort of large cage in the middle of a cave and as she took in more of her surroundings, she realised it was somewhat familiar.

"You're awake." Noted a voice from behind her.

"Where am I?" Murmured Phoebe, rubbing the back of her head gingerly.

"You don't remember?" Asked Prue hesitantly. Phoebe frowned, shifting her position to face the girl and view the rest of the cave.

"Are we on the Island of the Valkyries?" She asked hesitantly.

"So you do remember?" Said Prue, suddenly hopeful that her mother had recovered.

"I remember coming here to rescue Leo then Piper." She replied, steadily regaining her senses.

"Wait what?" Questioned Prue, hurriedly walking through the open cage door to kneel down next to her confused mother. "Mum, what are you talking about? You never came here to rescue Leo, he was the one who brought you here. And Piper... You couldn't save her, you must remember that." Phoebe shook her head desperately, looking up into the girls eyes and was momentarily startled by how much they remembered her own.

"No, Leo was taken by someone the day he left to be an elder- we had to come here to bring him back." Prue frowned. As far as she was aware the first time Phoebe had ever visited the island was when Leo had orbed them all there to safety after Wyatt's demons had attacked their house. Besides, Leo had never properly left to be an elder, he frequently returned to be with his wife and kids.

"Mum, you're making no sense." Insisted Prue, gripping Phoebe by her shoulders. Phoebe, however, was fast recovering and the urgency of the situation was beginning to set in. She needed to find her sisters and Leo and by the sounds of things, they weren't here. "What's the last thing you remember?" Phoebe got to her feet, trying to plan her next course of action. She knew that there was no point trying to pretend to be her future self- there was far too much of an information gap to pull that off, so she chose instead to be honest and just hope her future daughter would believe her.

"Hear these words, hear the rhyme.

We send you this burning sign.

Then out future selves we'll find.

In another place and time." She recalled- hoping that the spell did indeed only work once.

"What?"

"That's the last thing I remember. Standing in the attic with my sisters and reading that spell to bring us hear."

"So you _have_ time travelled?" Clarified Prue, silently congratulating herself for making this guess earlier. Phoebe nodded, relieved her future daughter believed her so easily. "But why have you come here? Why now?"

"We're trying to find someone. Our white-lighter, although it turns out he's actually half whitelighter." Prue's eye's grew wide knowing how short the list of which-lighters was.

"What's his name?" She asked, although she suspected she already knew the answer.

"Chris." Replied Phoebe. "Why? Do you know what happened to him?" Prue didn't answer her immediately, but rather turned towards the entrance to the cage, heading out of the cave at a fast pace and beckoning Phoebe to follow her.

"There's someone you need to talk to." She stated once Phoebe had hurried to catch up to her.

Phoebe followed Prue through a small thicket of trees until they reached a large hut. There was a great deal of activity around the hut, and people hurried in and out without paying Phoebe or Prue much attention.

Inside the hut was even more hectic. There were groups of people standing around maps and globes, discussing different areas in very serious looking manors. Occasionally a green portal, which Phoebe recognised as the main way to get on and off the island, would appear and more people would arrive or leave carrying provisions or even severely wounded people.

Phoebe starred at the contents of the cave with disbelief, unable to imagine what terrible event could have happened to warrant her family to live in such military surroundings. Prue, however, ignored the general hubbub and lead the way over to the largest table right in the middle of the room where there stood a girl with long brown hair giving detailed instructions to a group who were listening to her with rapt attention.

The girl turned around just as Prue reached her and her face made Phoebe stop in her tracks. The girl was the spitting image of a teenage Piper, right down to the way she smiled in warm greeting at Phoebe.

"Mel, this is Mum from some time in the past. She says she's here to find Chris." Babbled Prue in her nervous excitement. "Mum from the past, this is Melinda; Chris' younger sister and joint leader of the resistance."


	12. Chapter 12

Wyatt shook slightly with rage as he listened to his younger brother's words. He had barely been able to forgive Chris for his time travelling treachery, but this new development had the power to break everything down, and if it did; it would be all his baby brother's fault.

Wyatt could feel both Chris and Henry's eyes upon him and heard his brother's nervous questioning about what he was going to do, but for the first time, practically since his mother's death, he did not know.

"Where are they now?" He asked, trying to keep his voice as level as possible. Chris shuffled in his seat, looking at the floor and didn't answer.

"The emperor asked you a question." Growled Henry who was clearly just as shaken by this revelation as Wyatt.

Chris looked up nervously. There were many reasons why Chris was reluctant to give up Piper and Paige's location, but he knew that if he had any hope of keeping his brother's trust for long enough to help the sisters then he had to be honest.

"Before I tell you-" He said hastily, seeing the dangerous looks in both of the older men's eyes- "I need you to bear in mind that before I left I was acting on misguided beliefs which I have since relinquished so..." 

"Just tell me Christopher." Cut in Wyatt. Chris sighed and looked down at the floor, twisting his hands together with nerves but he knew he had no choice.

"They're in P3." He stated solemnly.

Wyatt frowned. He knew the name of course. He had spent much of his childhood in the back room of the club while he waited for Piper to finish of some of her work, but he hadn't thought about the place for years. In the early days of his empire, he had kept it heavily guarded- suspecting that the resistance would view it as an ideal location for a base within his capital, but for some reason over time the club had slipped from his mind. As far as he knew, no demons guarded anywhere near it any more.

"Your mum's old club?" Questioned Henry, sounding just as surprised as Wyatt was. "I haven't thought about that place in years."

"Yes." Agreed Wyatt, not taking his eyes of Chris. "And I suspect little brother here has something to do with that." Chris nodded reluctantly.

"I placed a perception charm on it years ago." He told them. "It doesn't make the place invisible; it just pushes it into the corner of people's minds. It's protected by other charms as well to stop passer-by's from entering, but they've never really been needed. The sisters can only get in because protection charms don't work against a property's owners."

"I see." Said Wyatt, in a tone that suggested they would be having further words on this subject. For now, however, he turned to his cousin. "Take your battalion down to the club." He ordered. "Keep them on the perimeter and wait for my arrival. No one enters and no one leaves and whatever you do; do not draw any attention to your presence." Henry nodded once and left, but it was clear he was conflicted by revelation of his mother's arrival.

"He won't be able to get in." Chris said. He wasn't gloating, but rather stating a fact.

"That's why I told him to wait for me." Pointed out Wyatt.

"You won't be able to get in either." Replied Chris, and this time a small hint of pride entered his voice.

"Do you forget that I am the most powerful being on this planet?" Wyatt asked angrily. "You're good Chris, but you will never be able to match my power, let alone block it."

"Not every problem can be solved with a hammer, Wy. There are other ways to construct charms other than power- ways you would be familiar with if you ever listened to mum's lessons." Wyatt sneered at this response.

"Do tell."

"Look, magic is simple- nature just requires a balance. When you cast a powerful protection spell then sure it will be defeated by a powerful anti-charm. But if you write in a weakness that you control, then it shores up the charm from other attacks."

"And what loop holes did you build in?" Asked Wyatt, his voice suddenly dangerously calm. Chris smiled. A part of him was glad to finally be able to share his cunning.

"There are three ways you're going to get in there." He stated. "One; you give me back my powers and let me orb you in. My orbs act as a key so I can bring whoever I want into the club." Wyatt shook his head- while he didn't trust his brother's motives there was no way he was giving him back his powers. "Fine, two; you let me walk in- without my powers- and I take down the spell from the inside- it's a simple enchantment, it won't take long." Wyatt shook his head again- once more not prepared to trust Chris' intentions.

"And my third option?"

"You need to be invited inside." Chris told him.

"So invite me inside." Wyatt commanded him simply.

"I can't. I don't own the club. There are only three people who can let you in. Two of them are already inside that club, waiting for me to come and tell them what is going on, and the third is on an island somewhere in the Indian Ocean." Despite the ferocious look in Wyatt's eye, Chris felt strangely confident. This was the first time in seven months he had had any semblance of power and he was not about to waste this opportunity.

Wyatt let out a yell, telekinetically throwing Chris across the room so he landed in a leap by the far wall. This was bad. Chris was right. If Paige and Piper were here, then Phoebe would most certainly be here too meaning it wouldn't be long before the resistance learned of the return of the power of three.

"Who else knows about the club?" He cried, telekinetically dragging Chris to his feet.

"No one!" Replied Chris quickly, but Wyatt didn't believe him.

"Don't lie to me Christopher!" He warned, lifting him a little higher so his feet were a few feet off the ground. Chris didn't bother to struggle.

"I'm not lying! I set up the club about four years ago as a place to get away from demons, and, occasionally, if I was really pissed off with you; it was a place where I could kill demons without you ever realising." He confessed.

"It seems to me like it would be the perfect place for the resistance to take advantage of." Pointed out Wyatt. He gripped his fist a little tighter, twisting Chris' limbs uncomfortably.

"I'm sure they would feel the same way- if they knew about it." Chris replied, not letting his pain enter his voice. "But they don't, Wy. The perception charm works just as well on them as it does on you."

Wyatt, seemingly satisfied by this answer, released his grip on his brother, allowing him to collapse down on the floor. He then turned away to one of the bookshelves that lined one of the walls.

"Wyatt, what are you going to do?" Asked Chris for the second time this meeting. He was still laying on the ground- his limbs not yet ready to support his weight. Wyatt didn't answer right away, but instead pulled one of the volumes off the shelf, examining it carefully before he turned back to his brother.

"Just tell me one thing." He said, tucking the book beneath his arm. "How much do they know about this time?"

"Nothing." Replied Chris instantly. "I told them I went back to save you from a demon; they believe you're the victim, that's probably why they followed me back." Wyatt nodded.

"Excellent." He said, flashing a sinister smile before shimmering away.


	13. Chapter 13

The moment Wyatt arrived at the perimeter of the club; he could feel the power of Chris' spell. It wasn't so much pushing Wyatt back as suggesting to him that there was no point in proceeding forward. He found his eyes were shifting slightly to the left, away from the club as if they were unable to focus. The spell was urging him to forget the place all over again and seemed to get stronger the closer one got to the club.

Trying to shake his nagging feeling of doubt, he walked over to his cousin, who was staring fixedly at the building, as if he were afraid it would disappear if he even blinked.

"Well?" He demanded.

"It's a powerful spell." Confirmed Henry. "If you stop thinking about the club for too long, you lose it completely. I've already had three demons shimmer away."

"What about the shield?" Asked Wyatt.

"It's clever." Said Henry. "Never seen anything this powerful. It's not just protecting the doors and windows, but extends about a foot around the walls in all but one place. Never mind persuading the sisters to let us in, we can't even knock."

"All but one place?"

"Yeah, we can reach one of the back doors." Explained Junior. "If I remember correctly it leads to a tiny corridor near the toilets. Very easily defendable from the inside."

"So why can't we knock there?" Asked Wyatt. Henry beckoned Wyatt to follow him around to the back door and the moment they arrived, Wyatt could see the problem.

"You have to admire Chris' ingenuity." Henry commented. "This whole place really reminds you he's the second oldest child of a Charmed One, doesn't it." Wyatt frowned, but couldn't deny that he had clearly been underestimating his brother for far too long.

Buried within the concrete ground, barely visible on the surface, was a ring of four blue crystals, and as Wyatt examined the door, he spotted a number of potions, magically suspended just above the frame. No doubt the moment any contact was made with the door, they were meant to drop down on to the unsuspecting visitor and Wyatt guessed there must be a fifth crystal hidden somewhere in the door to come into play to keep the visitor secure.

"I'm guessing the potions are shielded as well?" He clarified. Henry nodded.

"And a second shield is also covering the door so that only a living thing can knock. The shield repels any rocks or sticks someone might use instead." Wyatt gritted his teeth as he tried to figure out a way to talk to the sisters without his brother's help. "On the bright side." Considered Junior after a few moments, breaking Wyatt's train of thought. "It does sort of prove Chris is loyal to you after all."

"What?" Questioned Wyatt distractedly, as a plan began to form in his head. "How does my brother building a secret and heavily fortified base in the middle of my capital city into which only himself and the leader of the resistance can enter, prove to you his loyalty."

"Well for one thing, as far as we know the leader of the resistance is as in the dark about this place as we were." Pointed out Henry. "And for another; Chris was able to hide this place from you for years despite how heavily you originally defended it and yet we know exactly where the resistance is based; we just don't know how to get in. Don't you think if Chris was on the resistance's side he could have cast the same spell on their island? There would be enough Halliwells there to give him the power."

Wyatt considered this. It was certainly true that Chris' spell work would be a huge advantage to whoever he was loyal too, and clearly the resistance's ineptitude was evidence enough that Chris wasn't giving them any of his spell work. But the fact that Chris had also hidden all of this power and ability from him meant that Wyatt couldn't shake his suspicions of his brother's motives.

Instead of commenting of Junior's hypothesis, therefore, he decided to put his own one into effect.

"We need to find out what happens if we try to knock." He stated, and before Henry could question how they were meant to do this, Wyatt clicked his fingers and instantly one of his demons shimmered to his side and bowed.

"My lord." It simpered in a high, grating voice. "What is your bidding?" Wyatt simply pointed at the fading black door before them.

"Knock." He commanded. The demon looked surprised at the apparent ease of the task and hurried forward to complete his master's bidding before his brain even had the chance to question why.

Three things happened the moment the demon's fist met the door. First a crystal cage burst into existence, imprisoning the unfortunate demon. Then one of the potions dropped down at its feat, immediately paralysing it up to its neck- clearly Chris had found a potion to replicate his mother's freezing power. And finally a loud, blaring alarm could be heard from inside the club, alerting the occupants to potential intruders.

Wyatt and Junior waited with baited breath, neither certain of what would happen when the doors were opened. The demon could still speak, and was begging his emperor for directions, but Wyatt simply ignored it, his eyes focusing on the door which slowly began to open.

Xx

"What is all this stuff?" Mused Piper as she rifled through a pile of papers she found her old desk

Paige, who was searching through one of the filing cabinets- looking for any sort of clue as to what had happened to the world- walked over to examine the papers over her sister's shoulder.

"I think they're spells." She said. "They kinda look like some of the spells in the book of shadows, but they're far more complex than anything I've ever seen."

"Is that Chris' handwriting?" Asked Piper. She had only just discovered Chris was a witch, was it possible that he was as powerful a witch as the one who wrote these spells?

"I guess so. I found bunch of candles and herbs in the bottom draw of the cabinet so a witch definitely uses the place. It still doesn't tell us what happened though."

Piper sighed, putting the papers down on the desk sitting down on the sofa with her head in her hands.

They hadn't slept all night and the adrenaline from their arrival was beginning to drain. Paige, however, continued to study the spells with fascination, but before she could comment further on them, there came a sudden, blaring alarm.

"What the hell is that?" Yelled Piper over the noise. She jumped up from her seat on the sofa and threw open the office door, running into the main area of the club to further investigate.

At the far end of the room a bright light was flashing in time with the alarm. The light was part of the fire alarm system, but none of the other lights were flashing and the alarm was certainly not the fire bell. Piper hurried towards the light, followed closely by Paige. When they reached the first alarm, they saw that the lights down the narrow corridor containing the toilets were also alight, leading them to one of the fire escape doors.

"What do you think?" Asked Paige nervously. "Is someone out there?" Piper reached her hand nervously for the handle, but Paige quickly grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing? It could be dangerous!"

"Or it could be Chris." Pointed out Piper.

"Does that alarm sound like a good alarm to you?" Argued Paige. "If you ask me that's an 'everything is about to go terribly wrong alarm' not one announcing the return of the guy who sent us here in the first place."

"Well we won't know until we check, will we." Said Piper, moving her wrist out of her sister's grip to reach once more for the handle. She opened the door slowly, and then almost immediately slammed the door closed again. She didn't even notice that the alarm had stopped as she spun to face her sister. "There's a demon right outside the door." She hissed. Paige's eyes widened. "There were two more just behind it. We need to move now!"

She began to head towards the main entrance, but Paige once more grabbed her wrist.

"No, I think we're safe in here." She posited. "If those spells we saw on the desk do what I think we do then this place is safer than Fort Knox!" Piper looked sceptical, but she trusted in her sister's knowledge of spells which had grown tremendously since she had become a full time witch.

"So what do we do about the demon outside the door?" She questioned. Paige shrugged.

"Talk to it? Maybe finally get some answers. It can't get in." She added hastily at her sister's incredulous look. "Even with the door open the shield charm on the building should still work."

"You're sure?"

"Well they haven't got in so far have they and that door is not exactly demon proof without some sort of enchantment protecting it."

Piper still seemed uncertain, but she didn't stop Paige from reaching out for the door and throwing it open, revealing a semi frozen demon trapped in a crystal cage, backed up by two larger and considerably more fearsome looking characters. Paige looked over to her sister for advice, but now that they were both faced with the opportunity for answers, they couldn't quite work out their first question.

Before either of them could speak, however, the taller of the figures stepped forward to one side of the cage, giving the sisters a small bow. As he moved into the light, Piper gave a small start. The man looked strangely familiar and yet she couldn't quite place where from.

"Apologies for the disruption." He said in an entirely unfamiliar voice. "We were just wondering if we might have a small word." He spoke with much distinction, but neither of the sisters felt inclined to trust the stranger.

"Who are you people?" Demanded Piper, not taking her eyes off the obvious leader. The man seemed to consider this for a brief moment before answering.

"My name is Wyatt Halliwell." He stated. "I'm your son."

Piper's hands shot to cover her mouth as she stared up at the tall man in a new light but Paige, however, wasn't convinced.

"Prove it." She ordered, eyeing the other man and the demon very suspiciously. "Show us your powers." The man smiled, and gave Paige another little bow before turning to a beaten up old car parked by the wall. It was heavily damaged, all its windows had been smashed in and the wheels had been stolen. Wyatt casually held out his hand, telekinetically calling one of the shards of glass to him. With the other hand, he beckoned over his slightly shorter colleague.

"Henry, if you will." Without even flinching, the second man held out his arm and allowed the first to cut a deep gash along it with the shard of glass, making both Paige and Piper turn away for a moment. "As you can see I also have my heeling ability." Said the man as he moved his hand through the air above the injured limb and the wound magically healed.

Paige seemed convinced by this display. And she reached down to the floor to remove the fifth crystal but Piper frowned. The sweet, half white-lighter little boy she knew would never willingly hurt a friend, even though he could heel them straight away.

"Wait." She instructed, turning to her potential son. "Orb."

The man's eyes flickered uncertainly for a moment, and the second man suddenly looked very concerned. A few beats past and with everyone the sisters grew more unconvinced.

"I...I can't." He confessed. The sisters exchanged sceptical glances but the man hastened to clarify before they rejected him entirely. "I mean I can't in the open like this, it's forbidden to practise magic and there are probes everywhere! If you invite us inside then it will be safe for me to show you this power." He offered

"It was fine for you to use your other powers." Pointed out Paige. "Why is it different for orbing?"

"It's a stronger form of magic, it's easier to detect." The man lied.

"Well why not do it quickly out there and we'll let you in before any probes arrive, and then you can explain to us exactly what is going on." Suggested Piper. But the man still didn't move. "You can't can you." Said Piper and Paige could here the confliction in her voice. Piper could see elements of her son in this man- he had the same eyes and she could even see aspects of Leo and herself on his face. But if he couldn't orb, that either meant something dark had happened to him to make his fall from grace or that this wasn't Wyatt. And Piper knew which once she was more prepared to believe. "You're not my son." She stated with fierce almost-certainty. The man opened his mouth to argue, but Piper didn't give him the chance.

She quickly pulled Paige out of the way of the door, slamming it shut, sealing themselves once more into the protective bubble of the club.

Wyatt sneered in frustration, and in his anger he sent a heat wave of energy straight at the still frozen demon, immediately destroying it. He turned angrily to his cousin, who had to fight every instinct in his body not to flinch or step away.

"Find my brother." He ordered. "And bring the lovely Bianca here too. It's time for him to prove once and for all where his loyalties lie." Henry nodded.

"Is he still in your office?" He asked knowing speed was of the essence. Wyatt quickly took advantage of the tracking spell he had placed on his brother and then frowned.

"No." He said, with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. "It appears he is with my father."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N- Apologies for the long gap between updates this time but in the future if you are ever curious about when the next chapter will be updated I am now keeping an up to date list of progress on all of my stories on my profile.**

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><p>Chris paced the office nervously awaiting his brother's return. As he paced, he tried to figure out how he could turn these new set of circumstances to his advantage. If handled correctly the sister's arrival had the power to change everything here for the better, but he couldn't see a way of doing so without blowing his cover with Wyatt.<p>

After his brother didn't return for ten minutes, Chris grew bored. He wanted to know what was going on. What if Wyatt had managed to persuade the sisters they could trust him? If Wyatt had even two of the Charmed Ones on his side, then Chris' job would become a whole lot harder. At least Phoebe was safe. He considered. And if he could only get a message to his sister, maybe Piper and Paige had a chance as well.

Chris quickly investigated the office, trying to find something to use to get a message to the resistance base. He found a pen and paper, but no magical spell books or potions which would transport the information. Besides, even if he could- he had worked hard to make the resistance believe he was working for his brother- they would never trust a note in his handwriting.

A new idea began to form in his mind and his eyes flicked towards the door. Wyatt had left in a hurry, and maybe he hadn't bothered raising the spells around his office again- it was worth a shot.

Hesitantly, Chris reached out for the door handle, anticipating his hand to be shocked back at any second, but nothing happened. Tentatively he grabbed the handle, and pushed down. The door swung open with no further action from Chris and for the first time in seven months; he was free. And with that freedom; came hope.

Chris wasted no more time being hesitant. He walked confidently out of the office and made his way through the network of corridors. He passed several demons who flashed him suspicious looks, but he simply met their glares and gave them a small nod, trying to seem as if he were meant to be there- not technically a lie as Wyatt hadn't told him to stay put.

He knew where he was going, and the moment he escaped the main halls he broke into a run- Wyatt could return at any minute and this was his only chance to get the sisters away from his brother.

He reached the prison block less than five minutes later and took the corridor down to the secure wing. There were no guards this far down; Wyatt had placed enchantments on every corridor making sure only the people he wanted to get in and out of the section.

Leo was being held in the most secure cell right at the end of the prison. Even though Wyatt had stripped him of his powers, he still didn't trust him. No one was allowed any way near him apart from Wyatt, Henry and Chris. Wyatt had told Chris when Leo had first been captured that he was being kept alive just for him and that if he ever wanted to see his father; he would always be allowed.

Chris had never taken Wyatt up on that offer. He'd had problems with his father even before Wyatt had set his mind on world domination. After Leo had disappeared to establish the resistance Chris made up his mind that no longer needed his father- one of the major deciding factors to stay as a spy with Wyatt when Leo offered him and Melinda spaces in the resistance. That was when Leo had cut all ties with him as well, and Chris hadn't felt any inclination to make amends. He just had to hope that Leo had insisted on accompanying the sisters here otherwise his plan would be for nothing. When he finally reached the corridor, he paused just out of the eye line from the door. He hadn't faced his father in either timelines for over seven months, and before that he hadn't exactly had a great relationship with either of them. What would he say if he found himself suddenly confronted with the Leo from his time? And how would he explain everything to the Leo of the other? Taking a deep breath, he stepped up to the barred window to his father's door.

"Leo?" He asked, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible. He heard a scrambling from inside the room and then a recognisable face appeared on the other side. Chris started slightly. The man had grown old since he had last seen him in this time. Physically, of course, he was the same age as ever, but his time in the cell had left him with long hair and small grey beard. Chris could instantly tell that this was the Leo from the past. The Leo from his own time would not have greeted him so eagerly, and his eyes would have been filled with a sad disappointment, rather than the anxious eagerness of the Leo before him.

"Chris!" He exclaimed, gripping the bars of the door with both hands. "It's me- past me. Me and the sisters came here to find you! What's going on? How are you free? Where are the girls, have you seen them?" Chris waited patiently for Leo to give him a chance to cut in as he reeled off the list of thoughts that must have been haunting him since he arrived and realised where he was. "Chris, why am I here?" Chris took a breath, uncertain where to begin.

"The sisters are fine." He stated. "Phoebe is safe, and Piper and Paige are safe for now, but will be much safer after you've helped them."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Asked Leo, gripping even tighter to the bars of the cell. "Let me out and we'll go and help them." Chris didn't move. He couldn't let Leo out. It wasn't that he didn't think this past Leo could be of use; it was that he couldn't risk the future Leo being free when the time travellers left. Also there was the problem that if he started freeing high security prisoners then Wyatt might suspect something.

"I can't." He said simply. Leo glared a very familiar glare at him, and Chris looked to the floor. He needed a way to explain everything to Leo quickly, without really telling him anything- just enough to get him to write the note. "Look." He began, an old story his mother had once told him suddenly springing to mind. "I heard the sisters travelled to the future once before. And in a similar situation to this, Phoebe found herself in jail facing execution."

"How do you..." Began Leo, but Chris held up a hand, he could sense Wyatt's growing frustration and any second now Wyatt was going to be looking for him- he needed to speed things up.

"That doesn't matter. My point is even though the past Phoebe had done nothing wrong; she had to endure the punishment because it was for the greater good. This is the exact same situation, except you're not facing execution. If you escape now, then the people I went back in time to try and stop, will start hunting down every Halliwell they know of, and that will put everyone in danger." Leo sighed, but nodded. He walked over to the small, uncomfortable looking bed in the corner and sat down, running his hands through his long hair.

"Then why are you here?" He asked. "You said Paige and Piper need my help, but how am I supposed to do anything when I'm trapped in here." Chris smiled- glad that they were finally getting somewhere.

"I need you to write a note." He said. Leo looked up at him, apparently startled and the simplicity of this task. "I need you to write to Phoebe and tell her that Piper and Paige are in P3, that they are surrounded and that she needs to summon them to her now." Chris passed the pen and paper he had taken from Wyatt's office through the window, but Leo didn't take them.

"Why can't you write it?" He asked suspiciously. "I still don't understand how you're free and the sisters are trapped, when only yesterday it was you who needed saving." Chris groaned in frustration- Leo was wasting time they didn't have and if Wyatt or Henry called him away before Leo wrote the note, then he had no other plan to get the sisters out of his brother's grip.

"Yesterday?" He questioned. "Leo for me it's been seven months. I was a prisoner at first, but I've been able to gain their trust. The people that took me are evil. It's them that destroyed Wyatt and that I went back to your time to stop. And it's them who are surrounding Piper and Paige right now. The mention of Leo's son drew his attention, and he got up from his chair and walked back towards the door- he looked ready to write the note with only a bit more explanation. "I need you to write the note." He continued. "Because the only way I've been able to work my way into this group- putting myself into a position where I can destroy them from the inside- is by completely cutting ties with any other party trying to stop them- including the currently working with Phoebe. If this note were to come from me then they wouldn't trust it, and they would spend more time arguing over me than taking action to save the sisters." Leo nodded and took the paper. He returned to the bed and, resting the paper on his knee, began scribbling a quick message to Phoebe, but he still had questions.

"How are you even going to get this note to her?" He asked. "I don't have my powers any more, and as you never made it back to us, I'm guessing you don't either." Chris groaned internally, but knew Leo would only keep writing the note for as long as he felt Chris was finally being honest with him.

"The people who have Paige and Piper surrounded can't get inside the club so any second now they are going to call on me to talk to the sisters and get them to surrender. While I'm alone with them, I will get Paige to orb the note to Phoebe. I would get her to write the note as well..." He added, sensing Leo's next question, "…but I can't guarantee there will be enough time. Leo nodded, he folded up the note as small as he could and passed it back through the bars for Chris.

Sighing in relief that they had done it in time Chris reached out for it but as he took it, Leo reached his other hand though the bars, seizing Chris' wrist, pulling the boy as close to the Elder as the door would allow.

"Listen to me very closely Chris." He hissed, his voice suddenly menacing. "I am trusting you to look after the sisters as their white-lighter in my place. If _anything_ happens to them..." With these words, he squeezed down tightly on Chris' wrist- pressing it into one of the bars making the boy gasp in pain. "…I will hold you personally responsible, and I will not rest until I have hunted you down and made you pay. Do you understand me?" Chris tried to keep his face as stony as possible, giving Leo only a curt nod. Apparently, however, this wasn't enough for the Elder, as he pressed down even harder, making Chris's knees buckle slightly from the pain. "I said; do you understand me?"

"Yes!" Said Chris, stumbling backwards several feet as Leo released his wrist. He quickly secluded the note in the wasteland of his trousers, and then sensed for Wyatt and his cousin. Wyatt was still standing outside of P3, but Henry was significantly closer- only a couple of corridors away. "They're coming for me now." He informed Leo curtly. "If you have anything else to say, say it now. You have about a minute before I leave here and forget all about you." Leo continued to glare at Chris for a few more moments, before his eye's suddenly softened. Chris paused for a minute, not used to this look from his father.

"Wyatt." He said. Chris sighed in resignation- of course that look had been about his brother and not him. "What happened to him?" Chris was in no mood to soften the blow for his father- not after everything both Leos had done.

"He's dead." He stated simply- and not untruthfully- the Wyatt Leo would know and recognise had died years ago- now only a monstrous shadow remained. Now it was Leo's turn to stumble backwards, he collapsed down on the small bed, his face in his hands. It was at this moment Henry finally rounded the corner and joined Chris in the corridor. He gave him a suspicious look then glanced into the cell. Apparently satisfied that Chris hadn't performed some sort of jail break, he turned back to Chris.

"Emperor W..."

"Want to see me?" Cut in Chris- not wanting Leo to have any idea that something more than simply death had happened to his beloved son. He allowed himself a small grin to make his cousin believe he had cut him off to gloat, rather than to conceal information from Leo. Henry nodded curtly at Chris' guess but he was clearly looking for any excuse to injure Chris.

Just about fighting that urge, he gestured for Chris to walk out in front of him, and Chris saw no point in disobeying. He walked quickly away from the corridor and didn't look back. His heart pounded as he felt the small, folded, piece of paper dig into his side and he considered what Wyatt would do if he found it in his possession.

Stage one of his plan was compete- but this had been the simple task. The next step was going to take all his skills in both cunning and quick talking. This was not going to be easy.


	15. Chapter 15

"What were you doing with our father?" Demanded Wyatt the moment Chris and Henry returned to the edge of P3. Chris fought to keep his hand from twitching to the place where Leo's note was digging into his hip and tried to keep his voice sounding as innocent as possible.

"The sisters mentioned that he had come with them from the past as well. I felt he deserved an explanation as to why he was stuck, powerless, in a cell." Wyatt frowned in suspicion but Chris knew that the lack of belief didn't come from suspecting Chris had done anything treacherous but rather from Chris' unexpected sympathy for their father. "Plus I hoped that if I got them a message from Leo then the sisters might be more prepared to help." He added. Wyatt was still frowning but he gave a curt nod, before returning his attention to the club.

"How long will it take you to undo the spell?" He asked, not bothering to explain to Chris how the plan to persuade the sisters to let him in had failed. Chris, guessing the rough explanation, smirked, but he quickly proceeded to answer before Wyatt could react.

"I'm not sure." He replied honestly.

"What do you mean you're not sure? You said this was a simple spell." Chris didn't bother to step back away from Wyatt as he knew Henry was right behind him, besides in this one instance he wasn't actually doing anything wrong.

"Oh, the spell will take a couple of minutes." He clarified. "But persuading the sisters to let me do it will take a whole lot longer. Undoubtedly they've acquired a few new questions in the last hour or so." Wyatt narrowed his eyes, knowing Chris was referring to his failed attempts to persuade the sisters to invite him in, but he fought the urge to lash out at Chris for the comment as he knew his brother was his only chance of reaching the sisters.

"Simply assure them that I am your brother, and in their desire for answers they will not stand in your way." Wyatt advised.

"That would be great if they knew who I was." Countered Chris. Wyatt frowned.

"You didn't tell Mum you are her son? You gained their trust to such a degree that they followed you blindly to the future without once mentioning you are a Halliwell?" Chris nodded, thought about it then shrugged.

"I wouldn't say they trust me." He stated. "I told them I came back to save you and when you took me back they presumably feared for your life. They are here to help you more than me."

"I'm touched." Replied Wyatt sarcastically. "Well, given you so successfully used your silver tongue to persuade them once, I am certain you will have no problem doing so again." Chris nodded in agreement- a plan now almost fully formed in his mind. "Shall we say then that you have... twenty minutes?" Chris' eyes widened- twenty minutes was not a lot of time to tell the sisters everything he needed to tell them, to get the note safely sent and to lower the spell. Wyatt apparently didn't care about this inconvenience; clearly he was taking out his frustration about Chris' unbreakable spell casting however he could. "Yes, I am sure twenty minutes will be sufficient, and just in case you need a little extra incentive..." He clicked his fingers and two more demons shimmered to the scene. In between them, clutched in their enormous muscular arms was Bianca. She didn't bother to struggle but stood resolutely, glaring at Wyatt. "...In twenty minutes either I am inside or your girlfriend is dead."

"Bianca..." Began Chris taking a step towards his fiancé. She had several bruises on her face and arms, some of which were clearly new, but in general she seemed in good health. Before Chris could reach her, however, Wyatt blocked his path, continuing to give his instructions.

"When you are inside you are to immediately open the fire exit doors on to the main dance floor and then stay in sight. I want to see and hear everything you are doing." Chris didn't take his eyes off Bianca as he responded to his brother.

"You won't be able to hear anything I say- even with the doors open the shield blocks sound from leaving the club everywhere but that one back door." Chris informed him. "Besides all the equipment I need for the spell is in the office." 

"As are, I am sure, any number of spells and weapons you could take to for fill your own motives." Pointed out Wyatt. "You stay in sight- the Mum and Paige can get you whatever you need." Chris rolled his eyes. Clearly Wyatt still didn't trust him, and if his plan was to work he needed Wyatt to not suspect him. He needed Wyatt to believe he was invested in his side.

"You still don't trust me even though I am about to hand the sisters over to you?" He asked, finally tearing his eyes away from Bianca and back to Wyatt.

"Somehow the revelation that you have a secret, heavily fortified base in the middle of my capital has given me certain suspicions."

"A base I created years ago in _petty_ rebellion against you." Argued Chris. "It has never been used as anything more than proof to myself that I can outsmart you. I never used it for any treachery, I kept it as much a secret from the resistance as from you and the moment you asked me to; I am dismantling it." Wyatt was unmoved by this speech, but Chris wasn't discouraged. "I want you to release Bianca." He stated.

"I'm sorry?" Replied Wyatt in a voice that suggested Chris had better be joking

"I want you to release Bianca." Repeated Chris, now fully resolved on this risky course of action. "And when this is all over I want my powers back." Wyatt's eye's narrowed and Chris knew this was a risky gamble. He was standing before his brother with an incriminating note not well concealed below his shirt and instead of getting into P3 as quickly as possible he was aggravating the very man he was about to betray.

"And why would I agree to either of those requests?" Wyatt demanded.

"Because seven months ago you promised me both of those things once I had proved my loyalty to you." Pointed out Chris. "If I still had the desire to stop you then wouldn't this be my best opportunity? Two of the three most powerful witches- without demon powers- in the world are right now sat in that club and only I can reach them. Why would I let you in to P3 if I still wanted to stop you?" Wyatt considered this argument and found no objectionable points, but still he was not prepared to give into his brother so easily.

"And what if I don't agree?" He questioned.

"If this doesn't prove my loyalty to you, then clearly nothing will." Replied Chris simply. "And if that's the case; why should I bother trying at all? Maybe our sister would be more willing to trust me if I handed _her_ the sisters instead." Wyatt closed the gap between him and Chris so now their faces were inches apart. He lowered his voice to a dangerous hiss so only Chris could hear.

"Are you threatening me little brother?" Chris stood his ground, determined to stay calm even though Wyatt's hand was barely an inch from the note which could be his downfall.

"I prefer to think of it as renegotiating." He said in a stoically calm voice. "Seven months ago I agreed to your deal because I had now powers, no leverage and Bianca was dying. Now only I have the power you need, and I have a hell of a lot of leverage." Wyatt sneered stepping backwards and drawing out a knife- holding it against Bianca's throat.

"I still have her." He pointed out. "And I know you wouldn't let anything happen to her." With his words he drew his knife slowly along Bianca's neck. She gave no indication that she was in pain but a small trickle of blood seeped from the shallow wound. Chris, however, held his ground, and gave a small shrug.

"If you have no plans on ever releasing her then I might as well move on anyway." He stated, looking anywhere but at Bianca. For a moment there was a tense pause as everyone waited for Wyatt's response then, to everyone's surprise, he grinned. He dropped the knife from Bianca's neck and walked back to Chris seeming, if anything, proud of his brother.

"You make a good argument." He conceded. "The deal is fair. Bianca will stay in the Palace until this situation is resolved. You may talk to her, but if at any time she leaves, I will see this as a sign of your imminent treachery and both of you will suffer the consequences." Chris nodded in agreement- scarcely able to believe he had pulled it off- as Wyatt continued "Then, after this situation is resolved, I will _review_ the idea of returning your powers to you." Chris nodded again- what happened after the situation was of no consequence right now, all he needed was for Wyatt to believe that he had a stake in his plan- if Chris had something to gain from everything going well, then he wouldn't suspect treason when Chris's plan came together. Chris took two steps towards the main entrance to the club, and then paused.

"You should know that the moment I remove the spells, the sisters will be vulnerable to outside influences. You're not the only one trying to reach them and I'd put money on Phoebe and Mel having already set up a summoning ritual. Once the spell is down you need to persuade them to leave as soon as possible or you will lose them." Wyatt nodded his understanding and let Chris pass him to enter the club.

"Don't forget to open the doors- if our deal is going to stand I want to see everything you do." Chris looked back and nodded, before stepping through the invisible shield and opening the club door. He only allowed himself to breathe once the door was closed behind him and he was finally safe.

He walked over to the stairs leading down to the main dance area and then froze. Paige and Piper stood before him- brandishing his own athame at him as well as a number of potions they had clearly found in the office. He held his hands up quickly to indicate his surrender, but apparently the sisters saw this sudden movement as an attack as Chris suddenly found the athame coming straight for his chest.


	16. Chapter 16

Piper froze the athame an inch away from Chris' face. He froze, his arms still raised, and waited for them to make the next move.

"Chris?" Questioned Paige. Chris nodded slowly knowing that the events of the last few hours and everything they must have learned since arriving here would have severely shaken the both of them. Now was not the time for sarcasm. "How did you get in here? The place is surrounded by demons."

"They let me in." Replied Chris honestly. "They can't get to you unless you let them enter here and they sent me to persuade you to do so. They think I am on their side."

"And are you?" Asked Piper suspiciously.

"No." Answered Chris without skipping a beat. "I'm going to help you get out of here and to Phoebe, but to do that I need to trust you."

"Trust you?" Laughed Piper. "We don't even know you. If you want us to trust you then we are going to need answers." Chris nodded his agreement.

"I have twenty minutes to get results or Bianca dies. You have 15 minutes to ask me anything you want and then I will get you to Phoebe." He promised. Apparently this offer was acceptable to the sisters and the athame dropped from the air to Chris' feet and the pair returned to the main dance area.

Chris nodded and descended the rest of the stairs. He moved quickly to the main floor fire doors, going to push them open before either Paige or Piper had the chance to stop him.

"What are you doing!" Exclaimed Piper. Apparently she thought Chris was betraying them as she sent a warning blast of power to the place just above Chris' head.

"Relax!" Objected Chris, turning back to the sisters, half-heartedly raising his hands again. "They still can't get in. They can't even hear us. This was just part of the deal I made to make sure we could talk without being over heard."

Piper's eyes darted to the now gaping entrance to the club, but quickly averted her eyes again as the man who had claimed to be her son moved into sight.

Chris ignored this new presence and instead walked over to one of the groups of sofas, stumbling slightly over a chair leg as he did so, causing him to reach out to one of the sofas for support. Once he steadied himself, he briskly moved to the second of the sofas and sat down, gesturing for the sisters to join him. Paige, anxious for answers, did so quickly, taking the seat directly opposite him and then Piper, after a moment's deliberation joined them as well.

"Before we begin, there are some supplies I need from the office." He said. He casually shifted around on the sofa, leaning against one of the arms so as his head now blocked Wyatt's view to his mouth. "Paige, while you're in there I need you to orb a message."

"What message?" Asked Paige mirroring Chris' action so here lips were also blocked from sight.

"Behind the pillow next to you there is a note from Leo." He explained, holding up his hand to silence Piper as he continued. "I went to see him after I saw you. He's alive and for the most part unharmed but he won't be able to help you in this time. The people Phoebe is with will explain everything to you; you just need to get them this message telling them where you are." Piper looked like she wanted to ask more, but Paige cut in first.

"Where is she?"

"Do you remember the island of the Valkyries?" He asked. Paige didn't need to long to recall that place, nor those fearsome warriors. "There is a resistance movement now based there- a movement the Phoebe of this time runs. As you have been there before your orbs should be able to get through. When she gets that note she will summon you to her."

"Why can't we just orb there now?" Questioned Paige.

"Because there is a chance that your orbs can't get through their enchantments and if that is the case then you will be in far more danger than anything you are going to face here." This wasn't strictly true, but if the sister's left then Bianca would be lost and his cover would be blown. Fortunately Paige and Piper accepted this statement without question and Paige subtly reached her hand behind the pillow and curled her fingers around the note Chris had dropped when he 'stumbled' into the sofa.

"After you have sent the note grab whatever magic supplies you see in the bottom draw of the filing cabinet and come straight back out- it will be suspicious if you're in there too long." He instructed, glancing quickly out at Wyatt who was still patiently observing everything that was happening. "Piper I need you to go with her." He added, suddenly remembering something else. "There are a load of papers on the desk and I need you to destroy them."

"Destroy them?" Repeated Piper in surprise. "I saw the work that is on them and that's impressive magic." Paige too seemed to agree that it would be a shame to destroy such excellent work but Chris wouldn't risk letting his spells fall into Wyatt's hands.

"I have it all memorised anyway." He dismissed, hoping his claim was true. "Besides it's too dangerous to leave them unprotected when I take down the protections on this place. Do it quickly and then I will give you all the answers you want."

Spurred on by this incentive; Piper and Paige hurried in to the study. Chris tried to keep calm, praying that the light of Paige's orbs would not be visible under the door and that Piper could destroy the Paper's thoroughly enough that they would not leave a trace. He only allowed himself to breathe again when the sisters returned less than a minute later, each carrying a small box of herbs and candles which they placed on the table separating the two sofas. Chris sat looking at them expectantly, waiting for the first enquiry, and he wasn't at all surprised that Piper was the first to speak up.

"That man..." She began tentatively, her eyes darting to the open door, her heart beating harder and faster as she feared the answer. "Is he really my son?"

"Yes." Said Chris. He forced himself to keep eye contact with her so she would know he was telling the truth. Piper let out a small sob, but Paige wasn't so ready to accept it.

"But he couldn't orb. He had Wyatt's witch powers but the only white-lighter power he had was healing." She objected. Chris finally broke eye contact with Piper; his eye's dropping to the floor in sadness at the information he had to impart.

"He fell from grace." He stated hollowly. "Maybe a year or two after you... you died." He continued, hoping they had reached the conclusion about their demise before this point. "He always loved power, but the fact he couldn't save you convinced him he didn't have enough. He went looking for more. When he couldn't find it above ground he turned to the underworld and white-lighter powers and demon magic don't mix so well. He had a choice, to continue his pursuit of power and fall from grace or to stop. By that time he didn't even see it as a choice. The healing power he showed you wasn't angelic- he found a demon with the same power and took it for himself. He can heal demons as well as humans now."

There was a long silence after this tale as both witches tried to digest the information they had just been given. Piper wanted to reject it instantly as more of Chris' lies but for some reason she was beginning to trust the boy.

Paige, suddenly remembering the conversation they had had with Mandy in the hospital before orbing to P3, finally broke the silence. "Before we orbed here, a women we met referred to him as the Emperor. Emperor Wyatt Halliwell she said. Is that true?" Once more Chris nodded. He was no longer able to look at Piper's distraught face and instead kept his eyes firmly on Paige.

"It's been about five year's now- since he took total control. There was some resistance at first- governments' threatened nuclear action, and armies united to try to fight the demons but Wyatt was too powerful. Witches tried to stop him too but he k..." He broke off. There was a difference, he decided, between honestly and too much information and Piper was distressed enough already without needing to hear about Wyatt's decimation of the witching population. "Some survived." He continued trying to be more positive. "Most of them are now either in deep hiding or with Phoebe in the resistance."

It was clear both sisters had more questions. Piper was still trying to equate the sweet innocent boy in her time to the monster that stood looking in through the fire escape while Paige wanted to know more about Phoebe's work, her death and whether there were any more Halliwells they didn't yet know of.

Chris, however, suddenly realising how pressed he was becoming for time knelt down in front of the boxes of herbs and candles and quickly started work on the spell Wyatt had sent him in to perform.

"I know this is a lot to handle." He said as he worked. "I hope you understand now why I was so reluctant to tell you what I was doing in your time." Paige nodded and even Piper gave a small shrug of agreement, but Chris still had more to ask of them. "In a second he's going to be able to enter. Will you be ok?" Neither Paige nor Piper responded but Chris kept working. "I need you to keep him occupied for as long as possible. He's going to try and make you leave quickly and I have to pretend to want that too, but whatever you do: do not leave this club. The moment he takes you anywhere; Phoebe won't be able to summon you and any hope your arrival has given the resistance will be lost. Please. You have to keep him occupied and stay here." Piper's head moved slightly and Chris hoped this was an affirmative gesture. Paige, however, was once more frowning.

"Who are you Chris?" She asked. "Why was it you who travelled back in time and how come he apparently trusts you enough to let you talk to us after you did?" Chris kept his eyes focused on the final part of the spell.

"The Halliwells did a lot for me when I was growing up." He stated vaguely, not technically lying. He considered telling the sisters the truth then and there, but feared if they learned they would try and protect him. He needed them to trust his plan absolutely and they would never do that if they thought of him as one of their children- not that they wouldn't find out the moment they arrived on that island. "He trusts me because we were very close as children and I travelled back because I felt I owed the Halliwells a debt. I am still trying to pay off that debt and if you stay here long enough for Phoebe to summon you to her, maybe I will finally have a chance to do so." As he spoke he added the final ingredient to the bowl before him and muttered the final few words of the spell.

Paige didn't have any more time to question his story as the candles surrounding the bowl suddenly flared and a gust of wind blew in through the open door way.

The spell was down and, with a smirk; Wyatt stepped through the open door.


	17. Chapter 17

Wyatt, Henry and Bianca waited outside in silence, staring through the open fire exit at Chris' interaction with Paige and Piper. They couldn't tell what was being said, but it was clear the sisters- Piper in particular- were struggling to comprehend what Chris was telling them. The remainder of the demons had succumbed to Chris' spell and shimmered away to their various duties, but the three of their desires to reach what was inside meant that Chris's spell was having increasingly little effect on them. None of them spoke as they waited- Bianca wasn't stupid enough to say anything that could risk her imminent release from the cage, but Henry's silence surprised Wyatt given the deal he had just made. Wyatt could feel Henry's frustration and his silent judgement was beginning to get on Wyatt's nerves.

"What?" He asked testily.

"You know what." Replied Junior, not bothering to hide his doubts of the Emperor's scheme. "This is a stupid plan."

"Can you think of a better way?" Challenged Wyatt, who was becoming increasingly fed up with his cousin's descent.

Henry didn't respond. He didn't have a better plan. Neither of them could have predicted the arrival of their mothers to this time, and neither had and real clue what to do now they were here.

All the confidence Wyatt had felt before their first meeting at the side door had vanished- he had seen the look on Piper's face when he couldn't orb. He saw the fear in her eye that came not from facing three suspected demons, but from the idea that he was indeed her son. A small, cowardly, part of Wyatt was even wishing that is sister would summon them away- at least then he wouldn't have to face her. She would just be away on the island with the rest of his family and he could just see her as another traitor that needed no consideration other than the best way to dispose of them.

Of course, that wasn't a practical plan and Wyatt couldn't actually risk two more of the Charmed Ones opposing him. Phoebe had been difficult enough on her own without reinforcements. Still, as he watched Chris kneel down and begin the spell that would break down the club's protection, Wyatt found himself experiencing an emotion he had not felt for years now. Apprehension. His heart was beating suddenly very quickly at the thought of being reunited with his mother. He knew in his heart that what he had done was the right move; ultimately the world was better off without the conflict between good and evil, but he also knew that his mother was unlikely to see it his way.

"Do you trust him?" Cut in Henry who was staring through the open door at Chris, unaware of Wyatt's internal conflict. Wyatt considered the question for a moment before answering. His brother had certainly sent a number of mixed signals regarding his loyalties over the years, and Wyatt would never completely trust him. The only solace he found was that Chris also showed similar ambiguity towards their sister's effort.

"I trust him enough." Was all he told Henry though, but Henry didn't argue. Chris had completed the final stages of the spell and, with a gust of wind; the shields around the club were dropped.

Immediately Wyatt could feel his head clearing. He no longer had to focus on the club to see it, and his brain was starting to wonder what all the fuss had been about in the first place. Clearing any lingering doubts from his mind and face, Wyatt adorned his customary confident smirk, and stepped into the club. Chris stood up to meet them and walked quickly over to where Wyatt stood.

"The clock's ticking." He muttered, out of earshot of the sisters. "Either you get them out of here quickly, or Mel will." Wyatt nodded barely comprehending his brother's words as he pushed down whatever he had been feeling outside the club and planned out how he would lure them on to his side. Henry seemed just as distracted now he was faced with Paige- a woman he hadn't seen since he had been eleven- and so neither of them paid any notice to Chris and Bianca's long awaited reunion.

"My hero." Smiled Bianca, wrapping her arms around Chris' neck and pressing her lips gently against his. As they moved apart, Bianca spoke almost inaudibly into his ear. "Is there any chance this is all for real and you haven't got some stupid plan in place to betray him?" Chris didn't respond verbally, but gave her a grin which confirmed her worse suspicions. She groaned, releasing her grip around his neck and gave him a playful push. Keeping her voice low- not that anyone was paying the slightest bit of attention to them- she stated; "You're going to get me killed, Halliwell." Before adding; "What do you need me to do?"

"I'll let you know." Promised Chris, unable to stop smiling. Not only had he got his beautiful fiancé back, but even after everything she had been through, she was still prepared to help him with his dangerous work. Bianca just rolled her eyes, before the pair turned their attention back to the rest of the room.

No one was speaking. Piper was still sat on the sofa, in the exact same position she had been in when the shield had gone down. She didn't yet have the courage to face her son- not after everything she had seen and heard. Paige stood in a protective stance in front of her, unaware that Piper was not the only one in the presence of her future child. Wyatt stood a respectable distance away, still trying to process the right words to say that could convince the sisters that everything was the way it should be, while Henry Junior skulked in his shadow.

Chris wasn't sure what he should do. On the one hand this frozen scene was prolonging their stay in the club, giving Phoebe more time to receive the note and to summon her sisters away, but Chris also wanted to see what would happen next. If anything was going to trigger Wyatt's conscience then it was going to be their mother- as a child he had never been able to withstand her disappointed looks, and Piper had died too early for him to build any great resistance to it. Chris knew that one conversation with their mother would not solve the words problems; but he was curious to witness it.

"Piper, Paige." He said when he saw no one else was going to instigate the discussion. "Meet twenty five year old Wyatt Halliwell." Neither sister made a move, but Chris was not perturbed. "And this-" He continued, turning toward Henry. "-is..." before he could complete his introduction, however, Henry flashed Chris a warning look and a small shake of his head. Clearly, like Chris, Henry wasn't quite ready to reveal his true identity to the sisters, and Chris knew that if he revealed Henry's secret then his cousin would return the favour. "...is where you guys talk." He finished, taking a step back from the group to stand back next to Bianca.

Wyatt took a breath before stepping towards his mother. Chris couldn't tell if the look of innocent apprehension was a deliberate ploy to sway their mother or whether the reunion had broken Emperor Wyatt's mask but either way Chris thought he was finally glimpsing his true brother after all these years.

"I know will have heard and seen a lot since your arrival..." he began and Chris recognised the same condescending tone Wyatt often used on him when he criticised Wyatt's thinking. "But you are looking at the future with eyes twenty years out of date and you cannot understand the importance of my work." Paige scoffed at his words, unable to imagine any situation which would warrant her nephew to take such drastic actions. Piper remained in her seat, barely listening to what her son was saying as she toyed with her fingers. A flash of annoyance crossed Wyatt's face- his Empiric tendencies for a moment overriding his repentant son act. "I know you have a lot of questions, and I will answer every one of them, but we need to leave this place- with the protections down it is no longer safe." Paige glanced over to Chris who gave the smallest shake of the head possible.

"Safe from what?" She challenged- understanding Chris' signal to stall Wyatt. "I thought you have control of all the demons." Her eyes flicked to Henry Jr. and Chris could sense the pain that this action caused his cousin- his own mother recognised him as no more than a demon.

"There are more monsters in this world than demons, Aunt." Replied Wyatt testily; he had grown unaccustomed to asking people twice. He took a breath to return his expression of innocents before he said his next words. "Please, I can't lose you twice." Piper looked up at his words, and turned to meet her son's gave, her eyes watering slightly. Chris, who couldn't risk Piper falling for Wyatt's words, took this moment to interrupt.

"Wyatt." He said, tapping an invisible watch on his arm when his brother turned to him. "We need to go now." He stated whilst once more he flashed Paige a warning look, hoping she would realise he was playing both sides. Wyatt nodded his head and held out his hand to his mother, but Chris' distraction had been enough to break the pair's connection and Piper had gone back to staring at her hands.

"We need to go now!" Insisted Wyatt, his tone suddenly harsh and impatient but the sister's didn't move and finally Wyatt grew tired of using his words. He grabbed Paige's arm and reached out for his mothers, but Piper was faster, she stood up and flicked her fingers at her son, blasting him away from Paige before she had time to process what she was doing. When she saw she had attacked her own son, her hands shot to her mouth, but before she could say or to anything more the pair were surrounded by a bright light and golden orbs and by the time it had cleared, the had disappeared.

"No!" Cried Wyatt, running forward to the place where just a moment ago his mother and aunt had been. Chris and Henry followed his lead though for two separate reasons the pair were relieved at the intervention. "You." Growled Wyatt, turning on Chris and grabbing him by the front of the shirt. "If you had anything to do with this..." Chris didn't even flinch, his alibi for once being rock solid.

"I told you this would happen!" He yelled back indignantly. "I told you to get them out quickly and you ignored me." Wyatt let out another yell, but he released Chris and pushed him away, turning instead to Henry as he began to relay instructions. As Chris turned his back to the pair of them towards Bianca he flashed her a wink, and she responded with a barely perceivable smile and a shake of the head. Chris allowed himself to revel in his victory as Wyatt and Henry discussed their next plans, but soon a concerning thought crossed his mind.

"Wyatt, we need to get out of here!" He stated. Wyatt, Henry and Bianca all turned to him in surprise, unaccustomed to Chris sounding so flustered.

"Why?" Questioned Wyatt suspiciously.

"Because soon Piper is going to find out I am her son and the resistance is going to know everything about my trip back in time and when they discuss everything they are going to realise they have questions only I can answer and without my powers there is nothing I can do to stop them summoning me. A spell, by the way, they have already set up to rescue Mum and Paige." Wyatt considered this. On the one hand if he could trust Chris then having him in the midst of the resistance could be a great asset. On the other, however, he did not trust Chris and his ambiguity towards the resistance could no doubt be easily swayed with the help of their mother. He nodded quickly and held out his hand, shimmering the party directly into his palace which was completely protected from most spells.

As the world went blurry, Chris wondered if he had made the right decision in staying with Wyatt. With the Charmed Ones all reunited in this time; this was the perfect time to strike against Wyatt, and he knew his own skills and experience could be invaluable to the resistance's efforts. On the other hand, if he left now then not only would Bianca be in great danger, but the resistance wouldn't have anyone on the inside of Wyatt's operations to warn them about what Wyatt was planning. He had only one more chance to betray Wyatt- there would be no return once he lost Wyatt's trust again and he had only just got it back. Right now he could do more good by his brother's side than his sister's but soon that would not be the case.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: In this chapter we return to Phoebe's storyline on Valhalla. It has been a while so if you need a reminder: the first two chapters were 10 and 11**

* * *

><p>"Ex...Excuse me?" stuttered Phoebe. "You're Chris' sister?" Melinda nodded, clearly also stunned by what her cousin had just told her. "And you're Piper's daughter?" Phoebe guessed- though it wasn't a difficult assumption to make given the close resemblance. Again the teenager nodded. "So Chris is Piper's son?" clarified Phoebe, trying to process the fact that her neurotic twenty two year old white-lighter was also her nephew. Once more the girl nodded, she opened her mouth to return the volley of questions but then Phoebe registered the rest of Prue's words. "Wait, resistance from what?" Prue bit her lip, and Melinda looked down at the floor. For a second Phoebe thought her niece was going to cry, but when she looked up, Phoebe was startled by the sudden fire in her eyes.<p>

"My brother." She growled.

"Wait, Chris?" questioned Phoebe- too distracted by these recent revelations to fully think that through.

"Wyatt." corrected Melinda, spitting out the word. "Not that Chris is much better. He follows Wyatt around like a brainless invertebrate." Whatever feelings of shock had arisen inside of Phoebe at the discovery of Chris' identity, were nothing to what she felt now.

"Wyatt?" She repeated, shaking her head. "That's impossible!" Melinda rolled her eyes, and Prue took over the conversation.

"That's what we used to think too." she confessed. "Then one day he runs off into the underworld and comes back with an army. He said he wanted to bring peace between good and evil to make sure no one else suffered from the 'pointless war'. Then he started a pointless war and seven years later... here we are." She spoke with a falsely cheery tone, but Phoebe could tell how deeply the events had affected both her daughter and niece.

"I don't understand." Said Phoebe, running her hands through her hair, momentarily caught off guard by how long her future-self wore it. "What happened to him to make him do this?" She thought of how distraught Piper would be when she found out, and then she remembered her earlier conversation with Prue and Henry about how her sisters were no longer around. The girls exchanged saddened glances, each unable to maintain eye contact with Phoebe.

Before they had the chance to answer her question, however, another green portal opened in the middle of the room and this time a familiar face emerged- it was the Henry- the first person she had come across in this time and, apparently, Paige's future husband. He was scruffier than when he had first met, his face was scratched and his clothes ripped. He was now also walking with a limp and as Phoebe looked down, she saw a large gash running down his leg.

Prue and Melinda hurried over to him. Melinda started to heal his wounds as Prue pressed him with questions about his venture- apparently he had been checking on one of their safe houses when a small group of demons had ambushed him. Phoebe just stood there marvelling at their efficiency- in under two minutes Prue had recorded all the information Henry gave her on to one of the sheets of paper which rested on the large table in the centre of the room, and Melinda had completely healed his ailments- allowing the attention to return to her.

"So-" said Henry, examining Phoebe closely, "-are you back with us?" Phoebe turned to Prue, uncertain how to explain who she was to the man, and Prue gave her uncle the cliff notes of the little Phoebe had so far told them. "Huh." He said thoughtfully- and Phoebe couldn't tell if he was actually surprised or whether his years of being married to Paige had desensitised him to such unusual events. "Perhaps we should take this somewhere more private." He suggested, glancing around the room which was bustling with constant activity. They all agreed and Henry led the way out of the cave and back to the collection of huts near where Phoebe had first awoken. He opened the door to the largest hut, letting the women enter first, before closing the door behind him.

The room was reasonably sized, with a large table in the middle- on which was only a cauldron, some bowls and a scattering of candles. Around the edge of the room were shelves stuffed full of battered old books, and jars and boxes of potion ingredients. The four of them each sat down around the table- the girls sat on either side of Henry who sat directly opposite Phoebe. From the way they were sat Phoebe guessed her window for answers had closed, at least for the time being, and now it was her turn to provide some.

"So, we've told you some of what we know." said Melinda, suddenly all business. "Now tell us about Chris. What was he doing in the past?" Phoebe considered this question for a moment- any assumption she had once made about Chris' true intentions had been shattered by these recent revelations.

"All he ever told us was that he was there to 'save Wyatt'." She explained- wondering what could possibly threaten Wyatt in the world which the girls described. "Whenever we pressed him for more information, he clammed up and warned us about future consequence. That's why we followed him here- we want answers as much as you." Melinda was staring daggers at the topic of her brother- clearly she felt Chris had made the journey for very malevolent purposes, but Henry held up a hand to cut off any comment she had been about to make.

"Wait, 'we'? So your sister's came through too?" He clarified. Phoebe nodded, and then remembered her sisters were no longer around- what would have happened to them? Her mind was suddenly filled with horrific images of her sister's rising from the graves as decomposing zombies, but then a considerably more terrifying thought struck her. What if they hadn't made it through at all? What if the spell could only take them as far as their time lines stretched and they were each trapped in the final days of their lives whilst she was left in this terrible future by herself.

"Perhaps they came through just in their original bodies." Suggested Prue- for a moment Phoebe thought her daughter hadn't inherited her pessimism, but then she finished her thought. "Though if that were true, then that means they probably would have arrived in the same place you cast the spell- right in the middle of Wyatt's capital... perhaps we should try to summon them." She suggested suddenly. "They might not have been discovered... yet."

Melinda nodded instantly, jumping to her feet and quickly beginning work on the spell. She worked with a fierce efficiency, and Phoebe could tell she not only wanted to rescue her mother but, perhaps more importantly, stop her brother's getting this victory.

Once all the ingredients were mixed, Melinda grabbed an athame off the shelf and without flinching she pricked her finger and allowed a drop of her blood to fall into the bowl. "Piper Halliwell-" she called. Then she let a second drop fall. "Paige Mathews. Blood of our blood we summon thee."

The girl looked around the room hopefully, but no golden light appeared and nor did any charmed ones. Melinda tried again and then for a third time. She added Prue's blood and Phoebe's. She insisted everyone held hands to add power to the spell and made everyone chant the words, and then the extended spell, but nothing happened.

Prue took a map of the world out of one of the drawers and began to scry for them- holding on to Phoebe's hand to ensure the strongest link possible to the Charmed Ones, but it was to no avail.

"This is pointless." declared Melinda angrily. She swiped her arm and across one of the shelves of herbs and potions, sending them flying across the room. One of the jars smashed open and sliced her hand but she didn't seem to care.

The group spent the next couple of hours in the room, examining every magic book the resistance had collected to try and find a way to reach Phoebe's sisters. Every now and then Henry would return to the main strategy cave to listen to reports from his scouts- hoping one of them might have heard something about the arrival of the new, powerful witches. Each time he returned unsuccessful, but this was of no surprise- if Wyatt did have two thirds of the Charmed Ones it was likely he wouldn't want many to know about it until he had completed the set.

As they worked Melinda pressed Phoebe for more information about Chris' exploits and Phoebe told her all she considered relevant- how Chris had helped save them from the titans and in so doing had promoted Leo to an elder. How he had taken Leo's place as their white-lighter and sent them after demon after demon with no explanation other than to 'save Wyatt'. And then how Bianca had arrived, stripped him of his powers and taken him home- leaving them with too many questions and forcing them to follow. Melinda and Prue then took a break from their research to discuss what Chris could possible mean when he said he was there to save Wyatt. Melinda was convinced that Chris must be there to take care of troublesome demons and witches before they got too powerful, but Phoebe wasn't convinced. She was having a hard enough tie believing the twice-blessed could have become so corrupted, let alone that her demon-hating white-lighter was helping him. They also wondered who had dragged him back- were there other groups trying to stop Wyatt's plans? Maybe the resistance had more allies than they knew.

They had made no progress in their research by the time Chris' note arrived. Phoebe was buried in one of the more tedious tomes the library had to offer so didn't immediately notice the bright blue light, it was only when her ears registered the jingle of orbs that she looked up hopefully, scouring the orbs for any sign of life, but she was disappointed when all that was left when the light had faded was a small crumpled note gently floating to the ground. Henry, who was nearest, snatched it out of the air, unfolded it and read it to the rest of the group.

_Phoebe,_

_I don't know what's going on or who to trust but I hope this note reaches you. I don't know how, but Chris is free and he's here. He says your sister's are in P3, that they are surrounded and need you to summon them to safety. You know I don't trust him, but I can see no motive for him to lie about this. Summon them to you- don't go yourself it could be a trap. Don't bother looking for me- I am imprisoned but in no immediate danger and you have bigger priorities. Give my love to Piper- I sense she will need it- and keep your sisters safe._

_Leo._

Phoebe leapt to her feet and immediately began to re-prepare the spell. She had almost forgotten Leo had come through with them too but now, as they usually did, her brother in law's words spurred her into action. It took her a few moments to realise the others weren't following her lead. "What are you waiting for?" She demanded. "You heard Leo, we have to summon them!" Prue bit her lip, looking down at her hands and Henry wore a frown on his face as he re-read the note in silence a few more times. Only Melinda gave her a straight answer.

"No." She stated forcefully. The girl could be no older than eighteen, and was no taller than Piper, but her tone made Phoebe nervous "This information came from Chris. I don't care if dad wrote it; we can't trust it." Phoebe considered arguing with her, but instead she just returned to her work- no one would stop her saving her sisters. She was just about to slice her finger to complete the spell when Melinda grabbed her wrist and pushed the bowl out of her reach. "You don't understand!" She insisted. "Chris is clever- if anyone can hijack a summoning ritual it's him- you could end up bringing him here, or even Wyatt!" Phoebe didn't care. She wanted answers and she wanted her sisters- at this point she would probably accept a reunion with Cole at the height of his madness if it would mean getting either.

She wrenched her arm free of Melinda and reached for the bowl, but Prue was faster, she pulled the bowl further out of Phoebe's reach and stood up in defence of her cousin. "She's right." She told her mother, though she seemed less vindictive. "Chris follows Wyatt. If he is giving us this information it is because he has a plan and the whole point of this resistance is to stop their plans."

"But the note was orbed here!" argued Phoebe. "If you are so against Chris then why can he orb here?" One look at the three faces before her gave her the answer. "He can't, can he." She guessed. "That means someone else orbed this note to us and clearly it wasn't Leo, so that only leaves Paige. Surely that counts for something!"

"Chris probably tricked her too." Shrugged Melinda, who seemed to refuse the very possibility that her brother could be more than what she believed.

"Or maybe he's trying to help." pressed Phoebe- determined not to give up any chance of reuniting with her sisters now that she was certain they had joined her in this time. "I get that his love for Wyatt makes you suspicious- he travelled back in time to try and save him, but when he was there be became our white-lighter, and as naive as it probably sounds; I trust him enough to believe he won't do anything that could harm his family." Melinda scoffed, but Prue seemed less prepared to disagree with her mother, and Henry was clearly on the fence as well. "Surely it is safer to try and summon them here to Valhalla, rather than to ignore the note and guarantee Wyatt takes them?" Henry nodded, making the decision to overrule Melinda. He slid the bowl back across the table to Phoebe then held up his hand to silence further objections from Melinda.

Phoebe nodded her thanks to Henry, trying to maintain the confidence she had had in Chris just a few moments before, but something had just clicked inside her head. Valhalla. The same island Leo had disappeared to when Chris first became their white-lighter. Leo had been convinced Chris was the one that had kidnapped him, but they hadn't believed him. Now though... this was too big a coincidence to ignore.

Phoebe didn't share this revelation with the group, however. They had enough suspicions of the boy's word without adding her own and despite her growing distrust of her white-lighter/ nephew; she still believed this was her best shot at being reunited with her sisters. She pushed her nagging doubts down, therefore, as she added her blood and spoke the words.

The spell didn't work the first time, so she turned expectantly to the rest of the group- hoping that their extra power would be enough to make the spell work now that they knew her sister's exact location. It took some more persuading- particularly from Henry but, eventually, Melinda and Prue reluctantly added their blood as well. Then they all joined hands- even Henry- as they chanted the spell once more. (Although he had no witching powers Phoebe hoped his emotional connection to Paige would add to the spell's strength).

They only had to wait a few seconds to witness the results. A golden light filled the room and then two shadows arrived. Phoebe could sense Prue bracing herself, readying to strike out with her powers if anyone but Piper and Paige arrived- out of the corner of her eye she also saw that both Melinda and Henry had acquired athames, and even she prepared to attack if her trust in Chris had been misplaced. When the light cleared, however, they faced no danger, just her two clearly traumatised sisters.


	19. Chapter 19

The moment the bright golden light faded from around her sisters; Phoebe could see she had interrupted something and not a second too soon. They both stood in defensive stances and Piper had her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide and glistening in shock.

"Hey, can you give us a moment?" She asked her companions. Melinda in particular was reluctant to leave- so close as she was to a reunion with her mother but Henry seemed almost eager to leave and so quickly ushered the two teenagers out of the room. "Are you two okay?" asked Phoebe, returning her attention to her sisters and running over to envelop them both in a tight hug. "What happened?"

"It's Wyatt..." murmured Piper. She seemed in such a state of shock that she barely registered her change of scenery at all as she continued to relive her brief encounter with her son. "He... he..." She began, but no words could encapsulate the experience.

"I know." said Phoebe in a soothing voice. "I know."

"You know?" asked Paige who looked just as concerned about Piper as Phoebe felt. "What else have you found out? What even is this place?" She moved to the window of the cabin to try and get her bearings but it was dark and all she could see was the faint outline of some trees.

"We're on Valhalla." answered Phoebe. "Apparently after Wyatt... you know, most of the rest of our family came here and set up a resistance. Paige, you've got a husband here, I have a daughter and Piper; you have a daughter here too. From what I can tell we lead the resistance and are helping as many people as possible." Phoebe can't tell if this news was comforting to Piper or just added to her list of concerns but either way her older sister finally snapped out of her fretful contemplation.

"I... I have a daughter?" she clarified, her eyes suddenly full of hope of redemption as a mother. Phoebe nodded, wondering if now was the time to also mention Chris' heritage. She decided it wasn't- the revelation of her son's evil had been just about balanced out by the discovery of her good daughter. Adding a currently morally ambiguous son into the mix would only throw her off again.

"Yeah, and she's amazing Piper!" Piper smiled for the first time since arriving in this time and Paige too was eager to hear about her future family.

"I have a husband?" She repeated. "What's he like? How come you both have kids but I don't?" Phoebe, who didn't know about Henry Junior either, shrugged but quickly informed her sister on her limited knowledge of Henry Senior and then went on to describe both Prue and Melinda. The sisters took a few moments to relish in this news before they snapped their attention back to other pressing matters.

"So Valhalla, huh?" questioned Paige. "Anyone think that's a coincidence?" Phoebe shook her head and this time she knew she didn't have a choice. She needed to discuss the mystery of Chris with her sisters before the Halliwells of this time returned and to do that they needed to know all the facts.

"It's not." She confirmed. "Or at least if it is it's bigger than you think." Both of her sisters frowned at this cryptic response.

"What are you talking about?" asked Piper nervously. Phoebe bit her lip.

"Chris is your son as well, Piper." She explained. "Apparently he is working with his brother, but I don't know... I don't believe the whitelighter we followed here can be evil. You guys saw him before, right? When he gave you that note- what was he like?"

"Whoa, back up there!" said Paige, still processing the first half of her statement. "Chris is my nephew!?"

"That... that can't be right!" stammered Piper. "But we were so awful to him! …And now we've left him back there!" She was staring into the middle distance, not registering what her eyes were seeing now but instead re-living all of her pervious encounters with her son. "Why didn't he tell us?"

"Let's face it there's a lot he never told us." said Phoebe grimly. "What he travelled back for, for one. He always said he wanted to save Wyatt but in this time well... he hardly needs saving." Both Paige and Piper nodded sadly- they both had first-hand evidence of this fact.

"I don't believe he can be on Wyatt's side." Declared Piper, though her statement was clearly more supported by maternal bias than hard fact. "If he were then why would he have helped us back in P3? Why would he have made sure you knew to summon us away?" Phoebe nodded slowly- Piper had a point and despite everything Melinda and Prue had told her about Chris; she still wanted to believe her nephew was good.

"Okay, but what about his little trip to our time?" pointed out Paige. "Don't get me wrong- I want my nephew to be good but if he went there against his brother then; how come Wyatt trusts him now?" The sisters lapsed into silence, their questions about Chris only multiplying the more they thought about him.

"I want to talk to him-" stated Piper after a few moments- speaking aloud the thought that was in all of their minds, "properly this time- no more dodging the truth or 'future consequences'."

"I don't think we..." began Paige, but Piper shook her head defiantly.

"We can summon him." she said, gesturing to the spell that was still set up on the table before them. Her sisters were just about to point out another hurdle to her plan when a voice spoke out from the door- the girls had returned.

"No." stated Melinda. She wore a fierce expression on her face which precisely matched her mother's. Piper wheeled around and took in her daughter for the first time. She didn't need to be told which was hers- Melinda was the spitting image of her teenage self- though she could see a little of Leo in her as well. Piper caught her breath, moving hesitantly towards her.

"You must be Melinda." She said, moving her arms to offer a hug, but Melinda stood her ground, crossing her arms tightly.

"You can't summon him here." She stated flatly- mention of her brother completely ruining her reunion with her mother. "It's too dangerous."

"We just want to talk to him. He has answers we need. He's the reason we came here." Said Phoebe, looking to her daughter for support, but Prue was just as adamant as Melinda.

"Don't you think we want answers too?" She replied. "But you don't understand what a threat he really is." Piper shook her head, refusing to believe the same fate had befallen both of her sons.

"He's not a threat! We saw him in P3 and he was good. He told us he was only pretending to work with the demons. He helped us get here for god's sake!" Melinda shrugged.

"He was hardly going to tell you he was working with demons, was he?" she pointed out. "Besides, there are a thousand reasons why he could want you here. Maybe he wanted to gain your trust so you would bring him here as well and he could have allies as he spies on us for Wyatt."

"Besides-" added Prue, "they'll have long left P3 by now meaning there's no way to summon him- Wyatt's fortress is protected by every enchantment in the Book of Shadows and a few created specifically for the job. There's no way to reach him."

"Surely the Power of Three would be enough to break through Wyatt's enchantments." argued Phoebe. "Especially with the help from other Halliwell witches..." Prue looked down at her feet and Melinda scoffed and shook her head.

"You still don't get it do you!" she exclaimed, swiping angrily at the air. "Chris might be less powerful than Wyatt but he's just as malevolent and twice as intelligent and just because he spent six months or whatever pretending to be your white-lighter doesn't make him trustworthy. You don't have a clue who he really is!"

"So tell them." A new voice had joined the medley. Henry had returned and was leaning against the doorframe. His eyes had been trained solely on Paige since his arrival but the moment she turned to him, he averted them away.

"What?" asked Melinda. Henry shrugged, moving further into the room and closed the door to make sure they wouldn't be over heard.

"Tell them who Chris really is. They know one version of your brother and you're not going to change their impression of him unless you tell them about your version." Melinda bit her lip, apparently unwilling to discuss her past, but one look at the Charmed Ones told her that they agreed with Henry so, reluctantly, she took a seat at the table, swallowed and began to talk.

"When Wyatt began his plan of world domination; he sealed the manor to keep us safe. For months it was just me, Chris, Junior and Grandad." The sisters didn't know who Junior was but didn't dare interrupt with questions just as they were getting answers about their enigmatic white-lighter. "Chris and I were never that close when we were growing up- I was always closer with Wyatt and Chris kind of shunned us- Wyatt reckoned it was because Chris was jealous of our relationship with Dad but... I don't know. Anyway, in those months Chris and I actually became quite close. We didn't have a lot to do other than play games and try and find a way out of the manor so it was kind of inevitable. Finally, once Wyatt had laid the groundwork for his empire, he came and told us everything and offered us a place at his side. None of us could believe it but Junior still joined him in return for powers and on the condition that he wouldn't have to work with demons." She paused at this, glancing sympathetically up at Henry Senior and then briefly at Paige before continuing.

"After the rest of us said no, Wyatt locked us up again only this time it was in his fortified palace. I thought me and Chris were in it together all the way- especially after grandad died. That's why, when Dad contacted me and told me he had a way to get me out and to Valhalla I told Chris instantly, only when Dad came to collect us; Wyatt was waiting. Chris had told him everything... dad and I barely got away..." She broke off; clearly the memory was still very raw. The sisters exchanged pitying looks, and were about to comment when Melinda continued.

"Any way, that was about five years ago, just after Wyatt had put down the last of the local rebellions and effectively took complete control. Then, two years later the Valkyrie leader declared the moment had come for the final battle. The resistance could gain no more strength and Wyatt's power was only growing so they marched on San-Francisco- Wyatt's capital. The resistance was ten times the size it is now but Wyatt obliterated it in days. Dad told me to stay behind and heal the injured when they returned through the portals, but it wasn't enough- I could feel the witches my brother was killing and I needed to do more, so I went back through one of the open portals and began healing every resistance member I could find. I was there for a few hours before Dad spotted me. I saw him on the other side of a destroyed building and I know he saw me too. He began to orb, and I was certain he was coming to me, to send me back, but he never arrived, his orbs exploded in mid-air and he was sent across the city- right to where Wyatt was waiting for him. There's only one person I know who has the power to scatter an elder's orbs. It was Chris. Chris betrayed me again and sent dad straight into Wyatt's arms."

Piper's hands were once more across her mouth as her daughter trailed off. Not only had this darker side of Chris been revealed but Melinda had also revealed more of Wyatt's atrocities.

"He must have had his reasons." Said Phoebe, but she didn't sound convinced. Melinda sneered.

"Well if he does then he chose to keep them to himself. I am simply honouring his wishes."

The matter of Chris was dropped for a while after that. Instead they focused on the opportunities the return of the Power of Three presented. Melinda was certain that now was the best time for a second offensive move against Wyatt but even with the sisters on the side of the Resistance; they would be no match for his army.

They spent the next hour or so concocting various plans against Wyatt- both Physical assaults and diplomatic approaches but nothing was practical. Wyatt had had three years to solidify his reign. The resistance had tried everything to gain an edge but every mole they had planted had been routed out- their most successful one was lost over a year ago- and every rebellion they led had been put down. Without a good knowledge of Wyatt's dynasty they couldn't possibly plan its demise, and so the conversation once more circled round to Chris.

"But he must know about what his brother is doing!" insisted Paige. "I get you think he can't be trusted but that doesn't mean he can't be useful!"

"The only person he helps is himself!" yelled back Melinda. "He can lie better than anyone I've ever met. The only way I'd even consider trusting him is with a truth serum but..."

"Okay." agreed Piper instantly.

"What?" questioned Melinda.

"Okay." repeated Piper. "If that's what it will take for you to take this chance then fine. God knows I considered it enough times when he was our white-lighter."

After the decision was made, the group split into two. Paige, Melinda and Piper stayed behind in the hut to make the truth potion- it was a tricky enchantment and although Paige had originally wanted to follow Henry; Piper and Melinda were uncertain they could create it without her help. Then, as they worked, Phoebe, Prue and Henry left to sort out a second problem; what they would do with Chris when they arrived.

"Why can't we just put him in the cage you locked me in?" Questioned Phoebe, remembering how it had very effectively held Leo for the months he had been trapped on the island.

"It's too public." explained Henry. He had scarcely said two words back in the cabin- clearly distracted by the return of his dead wife, but now they had left her company, he had returned to his normal- in control- self. "If people were to find out we had Christopher Halliwell on the island then they would want to do a hell of a lot more to him than ask a few questions. We've got a secondary, more private, holding cave at the far end of the beach, only problem is it's already inhabited."

"Who by?"

"My little sister." replied Prue, who now wore a look similar to that Melinda wore when speaking of Chris. Phoebe stopped dead in her tracks.

"I have another daughter?" She asked. At first she was eager to know of her second child, but then her brain went into overdrive as she imagined what terrible thing she must have done to warrant her family to lock her up.

The cell they were heading for was carved directly into the cliff wall. The door was mostly concealed by vines and Phoebe doubted she would have spotted it if she weren't looking for it. Henry pulled aside the vines as Prue took out a large key and unlocked the door, holding it open for Phoebe to enter first. Phoebe paused for a second, nervous of what she would encounter, but then walked inside.

The interior of the cave looked like just another one of the huts except there were no windows and it was lit by glistening pools of some luminescent liquid. There was a comfortable looking bed, a desk and a small shelf of books and, in the middle of the room, cross legged and staring defiantly up at the three visitors, sat a girl. She looked about twelve or thirteen and seemed about as dangerous as a may fly.

"What do you want?" She demanded petulantly, glaring not at Phoebe but her older sister.

"I want you to promise you'll stop looking for dad." replied Prue, returning her sister's glare unflinchingly. The girl rolled her eyes and turned away. "He's gone, Parker." insisted Prue, adopting a slightly kinder tone. "And he wouldn't want you risking your life hunting him down." Phoebe's eyes darted from Prue to Parker then back to Prue. This was the first time her future husband had been mentioned and naturally she wanted to know more.

"You're wrong!" Spat Parker, jumping to her feet and rounding on her sister. "He's out there and he's lost and he needs us to find him!" Prue shook her head sympathetically.

"Parker, I know that's what you want to believe but it's been months! You need to accept it. Dad is gone. He's either dead or in Wyatt's custody and either way there is nothing you can do. If you keep running away to try and find him then you are going to be killed and, please, I can't lose you too!" Parker's steely glare softened slightly at her sister's words and Phoebe didn't need her empath power to see her daughter was torn between wanting to reassure her sister and not wanting to give up on her father. Clearly Henry could sense Parker's sudden indecision as well as he took a step forward to speak to his niece.

"Parker, we're going to let you out, but in return I need you to promise you'll stay on the island this time." He said softly. "Give me one week of patients and in return I promise you I will relaunch the search party for Coop. Deal?" Parker seemed to consider the offer for a moment before frowning.

"Why?" She asked, her eyes flicking to her unusually mute mother. "What's going on?"

"It's a secret." Said Phoebe, uncertain whether or not now was the best time to reveal who she really was. "And before we tell you it we need to know we can trust you. Do we have a deal?" Prue smiled approvingly at her future mother's words and it appeared they had gotten through to Parker.

"Fine." she conceded, turning away from her mother to her uncle. "One week. But I'm going to find Dad with or without your help so you better keep up your end."

* * *

><p>In truth, no one believed their plan would actually work. Chris would surely be protected by the enchantments that surrounded Wyatt's palace and even with the Power of Three, three of their daughters and all the magical boosters on the island; the chance that they would actually succeed was about a million to one.<p>

It came as a surprise, therefore when, after only one incantation of the spell, the room was filled with a bright golden light and when it faded there stood- or rather- swayed Chris. His lip was split and bloodied and he had a bruise on his eye that was fast turning purple. His hands were tied behind his back and he was clearly winded, but that didn't stop a small smile appearing on his face as he caught sight of Melinda.

"Hello sister." He groaned. And then he collapsed to the floor.


	20. Chapter 20

Wyatt dismissed them the moment they returned to his office. He needed time to think; to reassess the situation before it got any more out of his control. None of them complained. Henry too was lost in his own thoughts about his mother and what her return meant to him, while Chris and Bianca were ecstatic to have some time alone after so long apart.

"You know, when I pictured our reunion after all this time I imagined slightly more than handholding." commented Bianca sarcastically. Chris frowned. They were sat on the floor in his room cross legged and facing each other. In the middle of them were a few supplies Chris had managed to pilfer from his store in P3 as he had been letting Wyatt into the club. He was performing a simple privacy charm so they could discuss their treachery without fear of eavesdroppers.

"I need to draw your magic." he stated, as if she didn't already know. "Without my powers I have barely the strength of an ordinary witch- if we want to talk- or, you know- not talk- without being overheard then you need to let me concentrate." Bianca rolled her eyes, but didn't interrupt him again until he was finished.

"Finally!" she moaned as she helped him move the components of the spell under the bed. "Now, take of your shirt."

"I thought we said we were going to talk first."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Halliwell, you're injured. Take off your shirt so I can have a look." Chris had almost forgotten the various injuries he had sustained that day- the adrenalin had nulled the pain from Henry's energy balls and Wyatt's interrogation until Bianca brought his attention back to them.

She shimmered away suddenly and returned a minute later with a first aid kit. "It's not a white-lighter but it'll do for now." She stated, pulling some bandages and disinfectant out of the box. Chris was glad to see that despite everything Wyatt had put her through; Bianca still had her powers. Having a fully-fledged assassin witch in his corner was good any day of the week, but crucial when trying to manipulate both of his waring siblings. "So, what's next?" she asked as she set to work.

"No idea." confessed Chris, saying aloud the words that had been haunting him since he had successfully sent his mother and aunt to safety. "Oww!" he complained as Bianca pulled the bandage a little too forcefully.

"What do you mean you have no idea?" demanded Bianca, ignoring her fiancé's complaints. "You told me you have a plan."

"I do have a plan! Stage one: get you and the sisters to safety, complete!"

"Stage two?"

"Stage two is... a bit more of a work in progress."

"And how far has it progressed?"

"Well, currently it's in two parts. Part one; the resistance and the Charmed Ones team up and do something clever against Wyatt. Part two; I keep working on Wyatt's trust until eventually he tells me his master plan and I find a way to stop it."

"Chris. That's not a plan- that's a suicide mission!"

"...Well I did say it was a work in progress!"

Bianca didn't respond, instead choosing to focus her frustration into patching up Chris. They stayed silent for a while until she eventually broke the silence again.

"So, do you want to talk about it?" She asked, pulling the final stitch through Chris's shoulder.

"About what?"

"About why you were so terrified at the prospect of the resistance summoning you."

Chris looked away but still tried to shrug it off nonchalantly. "I wasn't terrified. I was just playing the part- for Wyatt. He needed to believe it." 

"No offence Chris, but you're not that good of an actor. You were scared of what would happen if they took you, why? You're technically on their side." He sighed, but didn't bother denying her accusation again.

"'Technically' being the optimum word. The fact is if the resistance took me now; I would lose everything." Bianca snorted- if nothing else, Chris undeniably shared a flare for the dramatics with his brother. "I'm serious. If they took me now then Wyatt wouldn't be able to trust me again. He can't. If I were to manage to get back to him then he would always be afraid that I had cut a deal with them to be a double agent in exchange for my freedom- no matter what I told him, he wouldn't be able to trust me- at least not until the sisters left." Bianca nodded slowly, Chris had a point. Wyatt wasn't the most trusting of people in general, but his paranoia rose tenfold if he even suspected resistance activity.

"Ok, but that doesn't mean you would lose everything- you could become a more active member of the resistance- with the majority of Halliwells on one island you would be able to do _something_." Chris laughed derisively.

"The resistance are useless- you know that as well as anyone. Leo ruined them years ago and even with Phoebe in power now she can't undo the damage he caused. They've lost too many volunteers. Besides... I spent a long time proving my allegiance to Wyatt and that included making a lot of effort to alienate the resistance. I made sure they had no reason to trust me and that isn't going to change just because of the sister's return."

"You told me a lot of what you did, but then you went back in time to stop Wyatt! You got the sisters to this time and then to safety! Surely they've work out you're working as a double agent."

"I told the sisters I went back to save Wyatt and I'm sure Mel will come up with an explanation for me sending them to her. I haven't told you the worst of what I did- to Mel and Leo in particular. Trust me, if I end up in resistance hands I will be locked up on that island until Wyatt eventually defeats them and comes to rescue me." Bianca was naturally curious about what exactly her fiancé had been up to in the years before they had united, but she decided now was not the time to ask.

"I'm sure you can explain everything. I mean you didn't actually do anything to hurt innocents or to help Wyatt did you." Chris shook his head adamantly- his whole crusade had been solely to save innocents- even when he had been forced to make some questionable decisions, he had always been certain that it would save the most lives- in his opinion this was where he differed from both of his siblings. "Well there you go then- I'm sure your silver tongue could talk you out of whatever cage they put you in."

"Maybe, but then what about you? You're only safe for as long as I appear to be loyal. Who knows what he would have done if I had disappeared off to the Indian Ocean."

"Chris, I can take care of myself."

"Okay, but what about the rest of them?" Chris gestured to the red crystal on the floor that was still projecting images of the other unfortunate prisoners still trapped in the cage Bianca had just been freed from. "They're defenceless and in there because of me- I can't lose Wyatt's trust until I know they're safe." Bianca's eyes flicked to them for only a second before she looked away- she had spent the last seven months in that hell and had no wish to be reminded of it.

"Who are they anyway?" She asked. "I may have spent however many months trapped in there with them but there wasn't exactly a meet and great." The corner of Chris's mouth twitched slightly into a quick but undeniable smile before he answered.

"They; are evidence that Wyatt wasn't paying much attention to me growing up. Those two boys in the corner, Tim and Richard, are the only ones with any proper connection to me. They were my best friends from aged five onwards- they came round to the manor loads and we did pretty much everything together so Wyatt was bound to have noticed them once or twice. The pretty blonde, on the other hand-" he paused for a second, when he spotted Bianca's expression and quickly clarified, "err... I mean the blonde girl whom you are way prettier than, Sally- was actually one of _Melinda_'s friends. The other girl, Lucy,-" Chris decided it was safer to not use adjectives to describe the girls any more. "She was in one of the magic school classes mum made me and Wyatt take together- I think I spoke to her once. And the old man that was in there until his heart attack was my old elementary school teacher- he also taught both Wyatt and Melinda. A lot of my close friends, former crushes and favourite teachers are living free in this city right now but they're safe because Wyatt pretty much only started paying attention to me after I travelled back in time." Bianca was about to point out that for so many reasons that was a good thing, when she realised that Chris had missed one of the prisoners.

"What about him?" She asked, pointing to the final member of the cage- a small kid with a mop of messy black hair and a very pale face.

"No idea." replied Chris. Bianca frowned. Most of the other occupants in the cage might not have been particularly close to Chris, but he could at least name them all.

"Then why did Wyatt put him in there?"

"Because he thinks he's someone else; Jay." Chris paused; clearly the name brought back a lot of bad memories for him. "He was another one of my best friends. Either Wyatt's crueller than I thought or he doesn't know what happened to him." Chris cut off again, clearly trying to think of the words to describe the fate of his former friend. "Do you remember in the beginning of Wyatt's war with the resistance? He found one of their earlier bases which was still home to about 200 innocents? He sent demons in to kill them all just to send a message to Leo?" Bianca nodded turned her face away from Chris, suddenly unable to meet his eyes.

"I was there." She confessed in a quiet voice.

"So was he."

A heavy silence filled the air as each of them became momentarily caught up in their memories. Bianca was, not for the first time since she switched her allegiance to Chris, consumed by hatred for the soulless assassin she had been for Wyatt, whilst Chris tried to suppress the guilt he always felt when he thought about his friends. He didn't blame Bianca, how could he? Not when his own self-reproach was so strong. He should have found a way to save Jay- to get all his friends out of Wyatt's reach. But he had been so consumed by his role as a double agent that he had let them all down.

Chris opened his mouth to comfort Bianca, but before he could get his words out; his bedroom door crashed open. It was Junior.

"Wyatt wants to see…" He broke off; smelling the air curiously. His eyes narrowed and Chris knew his cousin could smell the burning herbs and candles that were still at work beneath his bed. Chris jumped off the bed and tried to leave the room before Henry could investigate further but Henry sent an energy ball straight at the bed- exploding it just as Bianca dived out of the way- revealing the previously concealed spell.

Henry's face was a stony mask and Chris and Bianca held their breath's waiting for his response. "Wyatt wants to see you, now." He stated, his voice unchanged by the revelation. He grabbed a shirt from the wardrobe and tossed it at Chris without another look at the magic. As they left, Bianca went to follow them, but Henry held up his hand. "Not you. You're out of Wyatt's inner circle. Now you're just another soldier who follows orders and who doesn't get to see behind the scenes. You stay here." He raised an energy ball in his palm as a warning to her then turned back around and dragged Chris away. Bianca bit back a retort and didn't try and follow. She could, of course, beat Henry in any form of battle- magic or not, but Chris was right- if they were to survive then, for now at least, they needed Wyatt's trust and that also meant doing as his lieutenant ordered.

Chris allowed himself to be dragged along by Henry for a while, but eventually Junior's silent smouldering became unbearable. "Look, it wasn't any serious magic." He defended. No response. "It was just a privacy spell with some harmless herbs from my store in P3."

"And why did you need privacy?" demanded his cousin. "What were you discussing that you were so afraid would be over heard?" Chris put on his best innocent grin.

"Talking?" He questioned in mock surprise. "Hen, Bianca and I haven't been together for over seven months and you seriously think we were spending our time talking?" He laughed, and Henry didn't respond. He just rolled his eyes and continued walking and Chris couldn't tell if he believed him or not. His question was answered sooner than he would have liked- the moment he realised they were no longer heading for Wyatt's office. "Henry where are we going?"

Junior suddenly grabbed him by his wrist, wrapping a cold metallic band around it as he shimmered them both out. Chris didn't have time to get his new bearings before Henry cuffed his other wrist as well and pushed him to the floor.

"Henry, what the hell!?" exclaimed Chris. They were no longer in Wyatt's compound, but rather in a field- out in the open- exposed. "Henry, what are you doing?" There was a hint of fear in his voice this time.

"I can't trust you Chris. Wyatt say's you're on our side, but he's blinded by his love for his siblings." Chris thought he could hear a distinct note of bitterness in his voice, and suspected this was more than about loyalties.

"Henry, we have to get back inside! The resistance could try to summon me at any moment."

"I know. Why do you think we're out here?"

Chris tried to free himself from his bonds, but without magic, or even a bobby pin, he had little luck. "What are you talking about?" He asked- and suddenly it was his turn to question his cousin's allegiance. "Are you doing this for the resistance? Are you a double agent?" He struggled to his feet to try and appeal to this potential new side to Henry, but at his words Henry punched him hard in his face, sending him stumbling back a few paces.

"How dare you! You're the traitor here not me!" He slammed his fist into Chris again, this time into his stomach, forcing him to double over.

"If you're on my brother's side then why are you handing me over to the resistance? Surely Wyatt didn't order this?" Henry didn't answer immediately. He strolled casually over to a nearby bush of flowers, plucking one off its stalks to examine it.

"Think of it as a test." He said, moving back to Chris and carefully tucking the flower into a button hole. "If you really are loyal then you will be perfectly placed to supply is with information about our family's plans. If, however, I am right; then you will no longer be in a position to damage Wyatt's campaign."

"If you're so certain I'm working with the resistance then why hand me back over- with my skills I could still be a problem. Why not just lock me up?"

"Because Wyatt would just release you. This is the only way to stop him from interfering. He'll understand. Eventually."

"Wyatt!" called Chris desperately, "Wyatt!" When his brother had fallen from grace he had lost all of his white-lighter abilities- including the power to hear his charge's calls- but Chris held on to hope that their sibling bond might be enough for Wyatt to hear him- or at least sense he was in danger. Before he could try again; Henry's fist came once more flying through the air- this time colliding with his lip. A strong metallic taste filled Chris' mouth, but he ignored it.

"Shut up!" yelled Henry, conjuring an energy ball. Chris headed his instruction- Henry had already hit him with these twice today, and there was a look in his eye which suggested that the next one would hurt a lot more.

Chris didn't have a clue what he was going to do- he couldn't see a way out. Ordinarily he would try and talk his way to freedom, but he was confident that that wouldn't work this time. His only option was to hope that Wyatt discovered Henry's plan, before the resistance tried to summon him, but help never came and soon Chris felt what seemed like static shoot though the air. Magic was coming.

"Henry!" He pleaded one last time. "This is your last chance! If you hand me over then Wyatt will suspect you of being the traitor, he'll…" This time Henry lashed out with a kick- winding Chris completely, but he didn't fall straight to the ground. Instead, a bright, golden light surrounded him and transported him across the world.

The sudden disorientation did nothing for his balance, and the moment the light cleared he knew he couldn't remain vertical for much longer. In the brief second he had left standing, however, he spotted someone he hadn't seen in a long time, and, despite his unfortunate situation, the sight of her made him genuinely smile.

"Hello sister." He groaned. And then he collapsed to the floor.


	21. Chapter 21

"Chris!" exclaimed Piper, running to her son's side. "Are you ok? What happened?" Chris was surprised by the concerned tone in Piper's voice. He had expected that by now his sister would have turned the Charmed Ones against him- he had certainly given her enough ammunition over the years- but apparently she wasn't as persuasive as he had given her credit for. As Chris looked up into his mother's worried eyes; a glimmer of hope ignited within him- maybe all wasn't as lost as he had expected.

"I'm... I'm fine." He stammered. He pushed himself up from the floor, swaying slightly

"No you're not." fussed Piper, examining his bruised face and steadily reddening shirt- the shoulder wound Bianca had stitched up had been pulled open by Henry's attacks. "Quickly; heal him." she ordered, turning to her daughter. Melinda froze. Her natural white-lighter desire to help witches was being clouded by her undiluted hatred for her brother.

"No." She replied petulantly.

"He's hurt!" Piper insisted. Melinda bit her lip- clearly not wanting to have an argument with her long dead mother.

"Fine." she spat, glaring daggers at Chris. She step forward to heal her brother and as the siblings came face to face a light suddenly switched on in her eyes. "Well- as I am going to heal you any way..." And before anyone could stop her she punched him hard in the face. "That was for dad." She hissed before proceeding to heal him. The Charmed Ones were all astonished by the act of cold blooded violence, but Chris just chuckled.

"Missed you too, sis." he said, infuriating Melinda even more. "Though you know my face was pretty numb from the beating it already took. If you wanted it to hurt you should have healed me first, punched me and then healed me again."

Melinda clenched and un-clenched her fists, clearly ready to attack her brother for real, but before she got a chance; Prue stepped forward.

"You know, he does have a point, Mels." She said. Then she too punched Chris hard in the face. "Better?" She enquired. Chris shrugged- clearly having expected such a reaction.

"About the same- Mel hits harder." Both teenagers now looked about ready to murder the new arrival but before they had a chance, Henry stepped forward.

"Alright enough!" he ordered, taking charge of the situation before it got out of control. He pulled the only chair in the room away from the desk. "Chris, take a seat. Girls; other side of the room. Now." Chris obeyed without question- he saw no gain in either pissing off his uncle or seeming unreasonable. Melinda and Prue both hesitated but quickly bowed under the parental pressure in the room.

"Chris, what happened to you?" asked Piper, crouching down besides Chris's seat.

"There's no point asking him anything yet!" Cut in Melinda before Chris had a chance to answer. "He'll lie through his tee-"

"Melinda." said Henry, raising his voice ever so slightly. "You need to cool off right now, or you can go join Parker."

The youngest Halliwell hadn't been invited to take part in the interrogation. Her recent poor behaviour, Henry had decided, meant that she couldn't be trusted. Instead she had been sent to join one of the training sessions and one of the few remaining Valkyries was keeping an eye on her. Melinda opened her mouth to protest further, but her uncle shot her a warning look and she gave in, muttering curses under her breath. Piper nodded her thanks to her future brother in law and continued.

"Chris; tell us. What happened to you? Did Wyatt find out what you did?"

"Wyatt doesn't use his fists and I don't get caught."

"So then what happened?" 

"I covered my tracks, but they still don't trust me so they set me a test. I can't tell if it's Wyatt's plan or not but either way; Junior took me out into a field and- as politely as he knows how- told me to either come back with information on your movements or not to return at all. Then he pinned this flower to me and waited." Henry's eyes flicked down for the first time to the flower Junior had attached to Chris' shirt. For a second Chris could have sworn he saw a hint of recognition in his eyes but it was concealed in an instant if it had ever been there at all. "Mean anything to you?"

Henry Senior examined it slightly closer then shrugged. He opened the question to the rest of the group, Paige commented on its beauty but no one revealed any hidden symbolism beyond that.

"Must have been his idea of gift wrapping." suggested Prue. Chris' eyes were still fixed on Henry Senior, but he was giving nothing else away.

"Wait; am I missing something." chimed in Piper, turning to Melinda "Who is Junior? Is that the same guy you mentioned before- the one that was trapped with you in the manor until he joined with Wyatt?" All of the future dwellers turned their focus to Henry, and the three Charmed Ones followed their lead. Henry cleared his throat and ruffled his hair awkwardly, looking anywhere but at Paige as he contemplated how to answer. Unfortunately Melinda replied before he had a chance.

"He's Henry and Paige's adopted son." She explained, using the same disgusted tone she reserved for all the male Halliwell kids. "Like you said he joined with Wyatt in exchange for demon powers. He's been his second in command ever since." Paige was stunned. She had been waiting eagerly to learn of any children she might have since she had arrived in this time and now her news was just as bad as Piper's. She opened her mouth but before any sound came out, Henry cut in- apparently he wasn't so eager to discuss the matter.

"Chris, we have some questions for you, and we need honest answers." Chris' eyes darted from Henry to Paige, feeling a strange and unprecedented urge to defend his cousin's actions, but in the end no defence jumped to mind.

"Ask away." He said.

"And as much as I am sure you would answer honestly; you don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to the truth." Henry suddenly found himself unable to look at Chris. Truth potion wasn't a nice experience- particularly not one of the strength Melinda, Piper and Paige would have concocted. You lose almost all free will- your mind is practically blank other than for the answer to any question asked, which the potion forces you to speak aloud. You're paralysed because your brain can't even remember how to move its limbs and any attempt to fight its affects results in serious pain. Henry hadn't endured the experience personally, but after witnessing it's work a few times- to his mind; it was second only to torture and he couldn't believe he was about to give it to his nephew.

It didn't take Chris long to put together the pieces- none of the adults could look at him and both his sister and his cousin had adopted cruel smirks. He shot up out of the seat, turning to each adult in the room, looking for an ally.

"No way." he stated, and for the second time that day his heart accelerated in panic as he lost control of the situation. "You can't be serious!" Henry, his head resolved even if his heart wasn't, pushed down on his nephew's shoulder, forcing him to sit back down.

"I am sorry Chris, but we can't risk you playing any more tricks." His eyes flicked briefly to Paige, then back to Chris. "Not now."

Chris had experienced truth potion three times in his life- each time at Wyatt's hands. The first time he had been completely helpless, but fortunately that had been during the early stages of the Empire so Chris had had nothing of great importance to hide. The second time; Chris had recognised the taste of the potion which Wyatt slipped into his food a few weeks after Melinda's escape. That time he had been quick thinking enough to act- orbing the food out of his mouth and as close to the bin in his room as possible- it had been messy, but Wyatt learned nothing. After that, Chris took matters into his own hand. He wrote a spell to help resist the effects, but that had required his magic to be at full strength, and Chris knew that without his powers he would once more be defenceless- well maybe not entirely. He perhaps had enough magic left to tell one lie. He would just have to make it count.

"Mom, you can't let them do this to me!" He implored. For a second Chris thought it had worked, but then Piper sighed and held Chris' hand sympathetically.

"Chris, you lived with us for months and that is the first time you have even acknowledged I am your mother. Surely you understand why we need to do this."

"But-" Began Chris, though he had no defence. He could point out that he only kept his identity a secret to prevent serious future consequences, but their minds had already been made up and if he had any hope of getting out of the cell he was in; he needed their trust. As Bianca had pointed out, he hadn't technically done anything wrong and it had all been with the goal of stopping Wyatt. "Fine." he conceded. He had no choice and it would be better for him in the long one if he seemed cooperative.

Henry handed him the potion and Chris downed it quickly. It felt just like drinking water except it wasn't at all quenching and all too quickly he felt his mind begin to cloud. He didn't bother to fight it- a; because he knew he couldn't, and b; he needed to save all of is power up for one single, potentially crucial lie.

"Thank you. Now; have you been completely honest with us since you arrived?" Chris's eyes could no longer focus on anything but he was fairly confident he was still talking to his uncle.

"No." He replied- or rather the potion replied, for he was no longer in control.

"What did you lie about?" 

"I said my face was numb so I couldn't feel Mel's punch, but I could- the other bruises made the pain of that punch ten times worse than Prue's punch." If Chris could focus on her, he would have seen a small satisfied smirk on his sister's face. Henry sighed- this element of truth potion annoyed him as without asking very careful questions the interrogation takes twice as long as the subject tells irrelevant truths.

"But did you lie about how you came to be here? Is Wyatt really testing you or is this part of a more devious plan?"

"As I said before I don't know if Wyatt is behind this, but it is a test and as far as I am aware there isn't currently a bigger plan in play. The arrival of the Charmed Ones has thrown everything off for him- he needs more time until he can work out a counter move."

"And do you plan on passing this test? Are you on Wyatt's side?" 

"I do plan on passing the test." Admitted Chris and this response made Melinda raise her arms as if to say 'I told you so' and made Piper and Phoebe exchange astonished looks. "I have to. There are people whose lives rely on me proving myself. But I am not on Wyatt's side." Now Piper sighed in relief and Melinda slowly lowered her arms. She was surprised by this response, but not completely ready to admit she was wrong.

"But are you on our side?" She demanded.

"No."

Melinda turned to the group triumphant, but Henry just rolled his eyes- bored of the sibling rivalry- and continued with the interrogation as if the interruption hadn't happened.

"Chris, why did you go back in time?"

"To save Wyatt."

"Save him from what? The resistance?" Even under the influence of the potion Chris found this notion amusing.

"I wanted to save him from himself- to stop him turning into what he is today. The resistance isn't a threat to Wyatt. It never was. Before you had poor leadership and now you have no army." Melinda recognised this thinly veiled insult towards Leo but fortunately Henry did too, he held up his hand, silently requesting her patients, and then carried on.

"How could you possibly do that from 2003? All of this started much later." Chris attempted to shake his head, but he had such little control that his head simply flopped limply to one side then circled back to its normal position.

"It was starting way before mom's death." He said, the potion blocking the filter in his brain that would usually sugar coat his words. "I heard mom and Paige talk about it one night when they thought I was asleep. Something happened to him before I was born that changed him. It was like he lost faith in the system- he started raising his shield against white-lighters as well as demons and when he started to talk he said he didn't want to be a part of any of it. Leo started spending more time with him to show him how important it was, but Mom said she wasn't sure if he ever really believed in the fight or if he just got better at hiding his feelings."

"Wait, what happened to him?" demanded Piper.

"You never said. That's why I was sending you after any demon that could be a threat to the twice blessed; it was a process of elimination."

Silence fell as everyone processed this. They had all believed that it had been Piper's death that had pushed Wyatt to the dark side, and the idea that it had in fact started so much earlier concerned them all. Piper didn't want to believe she could ever allow something so terrible to happen to Wyatt, but she could hardly accuse Chris of lying. There was only one small flicker of light she could gleam from Chris' tale.

"So you're not on his side." She breathed, relief flooding through her. Paige and Phoebe too seemed to be relishing in this revelation. Even Henry placed his hand proudly on his nephew's shoulder. Only Melinda objected. She pushed her way to the centre of the group angrily shaking her head.

"No." She stated. "No! You can't all be buying this! This doesn't prove anything. So his conscience made one final push to be heard. How did he react? He didn't try to find us- he tried to wipe the whole slate clean with some half-cocked scheme that could have made everything worse. He's as much against the resistance as he is against Wyatt's empire. Aren't I right Chris?" Chris, who probably have responded truthfully with or without truth potion shrugged as best as he could with next to no control over his muscles.

"Yes, but-"

"So before we rush to judgement based on this one irrational act let's review some of your other decisions in the last six or so years." The adults all exchanged uncertain looks, but no one tried to stop this new line of interrogation. "That day when dad came to rescue me, didn't you try and stop us by telling Wyatt?"

"Yes but I knew you would get away." 

"Really? You knew me and dad would escape? You knew about Aunt Phoebe's distraction?"

"No. I knew _you_ would escape. I believed Leo would sacrifice himself to save you. Obviously if I had known Aunt Phoebe's plan I would have taken..." Melinda gasped, drawing further conclusions not yet obvious to the rest of the group and then slapped Chris hard across the face and tears appeared in her eyes.

"I knew it was you." She hissed. "You _were_ there in the battle. You sent him straight to Wyatt to finish off your pathetic, adolescent revenge against dad for slights you exaggerate." If Chris had any control over his muscles, he would have rolled his eyes or made some other critical gesture in response to the poor summary of his relationship with his father. As it was, however, all he could do is insert the smallest hint of sarcasm into his voice.

"Do you have a question?" Melinda was practically shaking now- a part of her hadn't believed Chris to be capable of such despicable acts until now.

"Did. You." she began, emphasising every word through gritted teeth, "Send. Dad. To Wyatt. That. Night?" For just a second Chris was able to make eye contact with his sister- but a second was enough.

"Yes." Melinda raised her hand to slap him once more, but Henry caught it, bringing Melinda back to the room. Melinda pulled her arm free but didn't fight against the implication. She backed off and allowed her uncle to resume the interrogation.

"Why, Chris?" He demanded. "Why would you betray your father like that? It must be about more than just his quality as a parent?" Piper's focus was flicking quickly between Melinda, Chris and Henry looking for some kind of explanation for her husband's apparently poor parenting techniques.

"It was about his quality as a leader." conceded Chris. "You can't put a pacifist in charge of an army- they don't know what to do. The Valkyries were warriors- they pushed him towards war and the only person left to talk sense was Phoebe. Five years ago I betrayed Leo because I hoped that if she took command then she would be smart enough to avoid head on conflict. During the battle I saw that Wyatt was heading after Phoebe. I needed to distract him. I had to choose between Leo and Phoebe and when I saw him orb I took that as a sign- not that I needed a sign." He added- the truth potion compelling him to speak the absolute truth. "If he hadn't have orbed himself I would have done it for him."

"So you did it to save Phoebe?" clarified Henry.

"I did it so save the most innocents possible. It stopped being about saving family members a long time ago."

The interrogating group once more exchanged glances- silently determining if they had any more questions for Chris whilst they could guarantee his honestly. Piper was satisfied with her son's responses and was now far more eager to interrogate other members of the room. Melinda too had gained all the answers she sought- even if she wasn't happy with what they were and Phoebe and Paige were keeping out of the fray. Only Prue stepped forwards.

"My father-" She began hesitantly- no doubt dreading any answer Chris could provide. "What happened to him?" This was the first question that had genuinely surprised Chris- he had noticed, of course, that Coop wasn't amongst their number but he had assumed him to be with Parker.

"Coop's missing?" He questioned. Prue nodded her head, now more panicked than ever- at least if Chris had have said her father had been captured by Wyatt she would have had an answer- not knowing was so much worse especially as her sister was so determined to get answers. "Wyatt doesn't have him- I was in the Halliwell area of the prison yesterday and Coop wasn't there. On the bright side; Wyatt would have told me if our uncle had been killed by one of his demons so there is a safe chance your dad is still alive." Prue closed her eyes, fighting back tears. In part she was, of course, relieved, but she was also terrified about how far Parker might go to locate their father if she heard this news.

"One final question, Chris." said Henry after Prue stepped away. "Going forward; can we trust you?"

This was it. This was the question Chris had reserved all of his last vestiges of will power and magic to answer. Pausing only briefly to summon every last reserve and chanting his specially prepared spell in his head; Chris locked eyes with his uncle.

"Yes."


	22. Chapter 22

No agreement could be reached on Chris that night so in the end they called a truce. Melinda was eager to announce the second coming of the Charmed Ones, hoping it would bring some much needed morale to their steadily dwindling numbers.

She was right.

Word spread quickly through the camp and out through their worldwide network of safe houses. This was the first piece of good news most of the resistance had had since before the final battle three years earlier and it didn't take long for the good cheer to escalate into a party. Fires were lit all over the island and a new green portal was opening every five minutes constantly bringing in new revellers.

Henry slipped away as soon as the opportunity presented itself and returned to the main cave under the guise of checking on security. It had been a long day. First he had been ambushed by demons on a routine mission, then his dead wife returned twenty years too young and finally; his son had sent him a message.

It was this final aspect that occupied his thoughts at that moment. During the interrogation he had subtly plucked the flower from Chris' shirt and now he sat silently staring at it as he twirled it between his fingers. It was a California Wild Rose. Nothing special in itself- they were common enough in San-Francisco- but it had been Paige's favourite flower. They had surrounded them on the first picnic they had ever taken with Henry Junior and Paige always made a point of filling the house with them after demon attacks or bad grades to remind everyone of happier times.

"It means something to you, doesn't it?" said Paige from the shadows.

Henry sighed; his careful avoidance of his dead wife had finally been thwarted.

"Not enjoying the party?" he replied, ignoring the question. Paige shrugged and walked over to him, taking a seat in the chair besides him.

"It's difficult to enjoy a party celebrating my return from a death I won't experience for another ten or so years." she explained, "Especially when no one will give me a straight answer." Henry nodded. No one in the resistance would have answered her questions about Henry Junior beyond that which Melinda had already said. It wasn't that Henry had given any instructions to refrain from the subject. On the contrary; if someone else could have this conversation then he would be most grateful. It was just that when it came to the subject of Henry Mitchel Junior; no one knew what to say.

"I get it." he replied, choosing to stare at the wild rose in his hand rather than the wife at his side. "You want answers about our son. It's only fair seeing as how your sisters are learning so much about their children. I just wish it wasn't so difficult for me to explain…"

Paige could sense Henry's discomfort and hated putting the man she would one day love through this kind of torment. But with everything she had learned about Wyatt's atrocities, she was desperate to know what role her son had played and, more importantly, why.

"Could we maybe go somewhere?" She offered, hoping a walk would help clear the air a little. "This island is so beautiful; I would love to see more of it!" She reached out her hand to gently take his, but he moved his away.

"Yeah, ok, that sounds good." he said softly, standing up quickly.

Paige smiled and together they left the cave, and began to walk quickly in the opposite direction to the beach- where the main body of the party was taking place- heading along an inclined path towards the peak of the island.

"So tell me about him." she requested once they had established a comfortable rhythm. "Not about who he is now, but about before. I want to hear about the happier times before… well… you know."

Henry smiled. Her words sounded so much like the version of her that he had known and loved that for a second he could pretend that she was back with him.

"I have been thinking about those times more and more recently." He confessed. His voice was soft now and to Paige he was a completely different man to the commander she had been dealing with all day. "Focusing on those happier times just like you always insisted we should do in dark times- not that you ever anticipated times getting this dark of course.

"I remember the day I brought him home and asked you if we could keep him and you were ecstatic. We had been trying to have kids of our own for years before, then that little four year old came a long and it felt like the universe was finally listening to us. He didn't have any magic, of course, but you were determined that he wouldn't feel left out from the rest of the family so you taught him potions and runes and any other magic that didn't require natural power. You insisted every Sunday was family day no matter how busy we were and we would spend the morning learning magic as a family and then the afternoon doing something normal to remind him that his non-magical roots were important and special as well. God… he was the sweetest kid! He got on great with all his cousins, you know? He even helped out the younger ones with their homework or magic when they were struggling. And the three of us were so close, a proper team… I miss those days so much."

"So what happened?" Pressed Paige, unable to believe that the world Henry was describing could ever go down such a dark path.

Henry was silent for a moment, taking an extra few seconds to reminisce that golden period of his life before having to explain what happened next. Eventually though he sighed, his happy smile fell and was replaced by an expression of stony sorrow.

"Did anyone tell you about your death?" He asked. He began to walk faster so Paige was forced to trot to keep up with his longer legs.

"All anyone would say was that I died in a demon attack." She said, now slightly breathless. Henry nodded but didn't say any more until they reached the top of the path and arrived at the edge of a waterfall. "Henry!" persisted Paige, "Henry! Henry, what is it? Wait up!"

Henry took a seat on one of the rocks by the fall's edge and waited for Paige to catch her breath besides him before continuing his explanation and it was clear to her that this was the last thing in the world he wanted to be doing.

"So I am guessing there was something more to my death, right? Something they didn't want to say? Is that what drove Henry away? Was it not a demon?"

"No, it was a demon. She called herself 'Morta'. She sought out the moment in you and your sister's lives where you had come close to death and recreated them- giving the moment a second opportunity to prevail. For Phoebe she recreated all the times she had risked her life to try and redeem Cole. She kidnapped Coop in front of her eyes and dragged him down to the underworld, angering her so much that she immediately followed with out the back up of her sisters- just like she had once prowled the caves alone searching for Cole. Luckily Prue noticed their absence fast enough and called on Wyatt to orb down and provide backup. For Piper she sent another set of ghosts after her just like the pair of soldiers who stabbed her to get to Leo before one of his army reunions. With Wyatt tracking down Phoebe, and Leo... unable to make it until the final possible moment, Chris had to orb her to the hospital and she was so close to dying that the whole rest of the family dropped everything to be there with her. That's when Morta came for you…" Paige nodded, guessing which of the many near death experiences the demon had chosen to re-enact.

"The car crash that killed my parents?" she clarified and Henry nodded. "But I don't understand: how could that have killed me? Why didn't I just orb out like I did the first time?"

"You couldn't. You lost your ability to orb before I even met you. About six months after Wyatt was born." Paige frowned- Wyatt was already over six months old.

"Wait, are you sure about that?"

"Roughly. You were attacked by these creatures called the Titans. They needed the power of whitelighters and you used yourself as bait with the strongest vanquishing potion you could create. She turned you to stone and took your power but Phoebe recovered just in time to stop her from killing you."

"We already faced the Titans." said Paige. "That was the day we first met Chris he arrived just before she took my power. He said I was meant to die that day."

"Well he wasn't completely lying. That day was a big part of the reason you died." pointed out Henry.

"He also said that the Titans took over and turned the world dark."

"Well there he was wrong. The three of you single handily took them town by taking on the power of the Gods."

"We saved the day but we still lost Leo. That was the day he became an Elder because of everything he did." Now it was Henry's turn to frown.

"No it wasn't. Leo didn't become an Elder for another couple of years. It was the small gathering of whitelighters that made the decision to give you those powers. Leo spent the whole time with you, Wyatt and your sisters. I guess that is another thing Chris changed."

"I don't understand. He has already changed so much but this future is still so awful."

"Well Chris will always be tied to this time line. This might not be your future any more- it's just the one that he was brought back to. Who knows; maybe you keeping your powers will change enough to stop all of this." Paige smiled doubtfully. She had heard Chris' explanation of why Wyatt was the way he was and she knew that Chris' work wouldn't be done until they found whatever dark force took Wyatt. Instead of voicing this doubt, however, she reached out for his hand.

"Well there is one thing I hope won't change." She said. "You seem like a really great guy." Henry smiled, for the second time that day caught up in the fantasy of his real wife returning, but then his smile faded and he pulled his hand away and returned his focus to the flower that he still held gently in his other hand. Paige looked down at it too. "You still haven't told me what it means."

"It's a message." He explained without looking up.

"Yeah, I guessed that much." said Paige with a small laugh. "But what does it mean?"

"It was your favourite flower. More importantly it was the flower we used at your funeral. I think what he is saying is that your return isn't enough because the real you is already dead and buried and more than that..." He broke off, and Paige saw tears welling in his eyes, "…and more than that they are too."

"They?" asked Paige, though she suddenly dreaded the answer.

Henry's emotions prevented him from talking so instead he moved his shaking hand to her stomach, closing his eyes. Paige let out a horrified gasp as she understood his meaning.

"I was pregnant?" she breathed, her hand shot to her mouth as she fought back her own tears. Henry nodded.

"Twins." he added, as if the moment wasn't heart breaking enough. "It all happened so quickly… there was no time. Chris sensed your pain and orbed me to you, but there was nothing that could be done even if he could have healed you. It was too late." He wiped his tears from his eyes, and shook his head, fighting back any further outbursts. "I tried to stay strong for Henry, you know. He had been so excited to finally have siblings- every Halliwell had siblings and I think he thought he would finally prove himself a true part of the family when the Mitchel kids could form a trio of their own. He used to boast about how he was going to teach them all these spells and potions and make them the most powerful little witches possible and he was going to be the best big brother possible. Then all of that was gone in a second. He was only eleven.

"We tried to go on as usual. Even kept up the Sunday tradition for a while but it didn't last. The loss broke us. Broke the whole family if truth be told. Phoebe was so distraught that she begged Coop to use his cupid ring to travel back in time to save her." Paige didn't understand what Henry was talking about but she didn't interrupt for fear of Henry clamming up again. "He was going to as well, and then the Elders came down and forbade it. They told him if he continued with his attempt then they would have no choice but to strip him of his powers. Even then he didn't stop him. He went back to the day you died but before he could do anything more; they pulled him back and took his ring. He sacrificed everything to try and save you."

"He sounds like a great man."

"He is. He's my best friend. I don't know what I would have done without his support. After a while Henry and I just kept growing apart. He spent more and more time with Wyatt. After a few years he even moved into the manor with him. Truthfully I think he was just looking for a brother- any sibling in fact that could fill the hole left by the loss of his sisters. He became obsessed with learning any magic he could. He once told me that as his sisters could no longer carry on your legacy then he had no choice but to do it. Then, when Wyatt took over: he was given a choice; either side with us- and lose another sibling and any chance for real power- or to side with Wyatt and forsake the old world order that had allowed two of his mothers to die. I know it sounds like I am just trying to defend him but…"

"No, I get it." assured Paige. Again she gently reached out her hand to hold his and this time he did not pull away.

Paige still had more questions, but before she could ask them, voices rose up from the path below them and Paige recognised them as her sisters.

"Paige!" called Piper from 10 feet below. "Paige!" Paige didn't reply immediately, hating to break up this intimate moment, but soon Phoebe's voice joined in as well and she could hear both of them getting increasingly frustrated.

"Go." said Henry, who had secretly missed such moments with his wife being destroyed by Power of Three duties. He stood up to go, then paused and turned back, holding out the flower to her. "Here, take this." He offered and Paige accepted. "We can talk more later if you still want to." Paige smiled her gratitude.

"Thanks." She replied in a low voice and then once he turned away again, she hurried to the edge of the waterfall and looked down on to the ledge that held her sisters. "I'm up here! What is it?" She called, not bothering to hide her own frustration from her voice.

"We going to talk to Chris again." replied Phoebe, "Without the others this time." Paige noticed Piper was carrying a plate of food for her son and she wondered if this was an attempt at bribery or her maternal instinct kicking in.

It was clear why Piper wanted this opportunity. They hadn't had much of a chance to speak with Chris during the interrogation- Henry had taken charge and Melinda hadn't given them the opportunity to talk to him properly. They needed time alone with him if they wanted to get his real, untampered thoughts and this party was the best distraction they could hope for. It was time for them to finally decide with side Christopher Halliwell was on.


End file.
